For example, China’s productivity-enhancing agricultural reforms in the 1980s were spurred partly by growth in the non-agricultural sector, a result of policies aimed at stimulating township and village enterprises. Similarly, in the 1990s, China addressed the buildup of bad debt and unfinished construction projects – the result of state-owned enterprises’ chronic loss-making and excessive property investment, respectively – by implementing institutional reforms that stimulated growth in more dynamic sectors, thereby offsetting the SOEs’ declining return on capital.

Resilience has thus characterized the interaction between the government and markets since the introduction of Deng’s reforms. Indeed, according to the late economist Gustav Ranis, the interactive dynamic of policy and market institutions was the key to the success of the East Asian economies. For example, fiscal decentralization in China, spurred by local institutions’ demands for increased autonomy, has helped to fuel regional competition and sustain an increasingly market-oriented economic environment.

This interactive dynamic is also reflected in the formation of industrial policies. In China, though clusters of vibrant smaller manufacturers are flourishing, policymakers have done relatively little to promote industrial development and upgrading. This leaves it up to market institutions to guide the process, ensuring that they play a key role in the expanding industrial sectors.

Another source of resilience in East Asia are local governments. For starters, they are responsible for public capital expenditure, driving the improvement in China’s physical infrastructure and yielding reasonable returns for private investors. This advances the objective of helping local businesses, particularly innovative small and medium-size firms, to grow and thrive. To this end, local governments are also helping entrepreneurs gain access to global production chains. The Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces have been particularly successful in this effort – and, unsurprisingly, rank among China’s most robust regional economies.

Finally, local governments have demonstrated a willingness to support institutional innovation. This allows for the flexibility needed to address structural challenges at the local level, thereby preventing them from blocking growth.

After three years of slowing growth and rising debt, China once again finds itself at a crossroads. Fortunately, it seems to be choosing the path of flexibility and adjustment, as it pursues an ambitious reform plan that, it is hoped, will enable it to edge closer to – and eventually cross – the high-income threshold.

The author is Professor of Economics and Director of the China Center for Economic Studies at Fudan University, Shanghai.