About the Blog

It’s a collection of intellectual essays on China’s political economy. It aims to improve the world’s understanding of China with holistic perspectives and broad-based analyses. Thorough research, good reasoning, and elegant writing are the aspirations. This blog attempts to avoid myopia, advocacy, taunting, and pandering.

Far too often, the conversation on China is either too specialized (academia), too ideological (think tanks), too anecdotal (the media), or too bureaucratic (multilateral organizations). This blog is an effort at something new and valuable.

About the Author

I am Zixuan Ma, a dissertation-stage PhD student in economics at George Mason University, specializing in Chinese political economy. A native of Beijing, I was formerly at The New York Times, Techmeme, and Caijing. I have also worked in venture capital in China. I hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Beihang University, and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Sydney.

My English articles have appeared on Bryan Caplan’s Bet On It, Richard Hanania’s Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology and the American Institute for Economic Research’s The Daily Economy.

I have broad intellectual and cultural interests. In addition to Substack, you can find me on X.

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to Emergent Ventures at the Mercatus Center for its generous support.

Select Sayings from Ancient China

「竊鈎者誅，竊國者侯」

「究天人之際，通古今之變，成一家之言」

「嚶其鳴矣，求其友聲」