Restart life

Chapter 267 0264 [Peking University Exclusive Course]

Chen Guiliang has already started classes, while Tao Xue is still in military training.

Chen Guiliang arrived at this class exceptionally early, and was even able to sit in the third row.

Professor Lin started the "Special Topics on the Chinese Economy" course in 1998, and it was only taught to students at Peking University. In two years, on the tenth anniversary of the course, the lecture notes will be compiled into a book and published.

There were still several minutes before class officially started, but the large classroom was already full, and many students were standing in the aisle at the back of the classroom.

Professor Lin is adjusting the microphone and connecting his laptop to the projector.

After he finished tidying up, he stood there chatting with the students in the first row.

One student asked, "Professor Lin, did you really swim here holding a basketball?"

Lin Yifu laughed and said, "That's just hearsay. It's true that I swam here, but I didn't carry a basketball. I still need to practice my swimming skills; external things are not as effective as one's own efforts."

The student added, "But I heard that ever since you swam here, your former unit has banned soldiers from playing basketball."

"That's true. I confirmed it with my friends. They thought I couldn't swim and would have to hold onto something," Lin Yifu nodded.

"Hahaha!"

The students who heard this conversation laughed.

The class officially began.

Professor Lin spoke slowly: "It's a pleasure to meet so many new students. I've always felt happy teaching students at Peking University. Mencius said, 'One of the greatest joys of education is to acquire the most talented people in the world.' The students at Peking University, and those who come to audit classes here, are certainly all the most talented people in the world..."

A soft chuckle rippled through the audience.

There really are people who come to audit the class.

In addition to members of the public who came to audit the classes, there were even students from other schools who came to Peking University specifically to listen to Professor Lin's lectures.

Because you can't hear this course anywhere else.

Professor Lin continued, "The nation's brightest talents should bear responsibility for the nation. This is especially true for Peking University students, because Peking University was founded on the Hundred Days' Reform. Why the Hundred Days' Reform? Because China faced a life-or-death crisis at that time..."

"How can students shoulder the responsibility of national rejuvenation? Of course, by utilizing their abilities. How much of a person's ability can be utilized depends on the magnitude of their ambitions..."

"If one takes the rise and fall of the nation as their own responsibility, how does one shoulder this responsibility? You must care about the world, you must care about the future of the nation... From this concern, you will understand what this era and this country need. Then, you must combine your career with the future of the nation. In this process of combination, you will unleash more of your potential and abilities. While pursuing your own career, you will also contribute to the rejuvenation of the nation..."

"I believe this is the duty of every outstanding talent in the world..."

Other professors might be considered pretentious and unrealistic if they said such things, but Professor Lin is qualified to say them.

He didn't start by giving a lecture, but instead explained his values ​​and guided the students to take responsibility for the rise and fall of the nation.

Then he talked about the glory of ancient China, and then about the humiliation and poverty of modern China.

"In 1979, our GDP per capita was lower than that of the poorest African countries. Our GDP per capita was even lower than that of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa! Students!"

"After the reform and opening up, China experienced rapid development... At that time (1994), we judged that as long as the approach was correct, China could maintain high-speed growth. By 2015, China's overall economic size would surpass that of the United States..."

As Professor Lin finished speaking, a faint murmur could be heard in the classroom.

Chen Guiliang's previous statement that China's GDP would surpass Japan's sparked some discussion, but when it was posted on Tianya Forum, it was met with widespread ridicule.

Professor Lin, however, said that as early as 1994, China's top scholars predicted that China's overall economic size would surpass that of the United States in 2015.

Isn't this a bit too optimistic?

"Although China's economy has developed rapidly, many problems still exist... Western scholars believe that while China has developed rapidly, it still retains a large number of state-owned enterprises and maintains state intervention in various prices and resource allocations. They believe this model is worse than a planned economy and that shock therapy should be implemented..."

"It wasn't just Western scholars... After Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour in 92, most domestic economists also believed that gradual reform was no longer feasible and that regulations should be quickly deregulated to enter a free market. Domestic economists who supported gradual reform became a minority at the time..."

"I have always believed in gradual reform, and I even wrote a book about it in 1994. I said that gradual reform based on liberating our minds and seeking truth from facts was more suitable for China than the shock therapy of the West. My views were in the minority, and at the time it was seen as me defending national policy..."

Chen Guiliang roughly understood that Professor Lin's first lecture would not cover substantive academic knowledge.

He's preaching!

First, instill in students a value system that prioritizes the world's well-being, then focus on explaining your own ideas on economic reform, guiding the students present toward your path.

In particular, his economic ideas conflicted with those of many other professors at Peking University. Sure enough, for the next hour, Professor Lin consistently used concrete examples to illustrate the correctness of his economic ideas.

With two consecutive classes, there were still more than 20 minutes left for students to ask questions.

Chen Guiliang raised his hand several times, but Professor Lin chose other students each time. On the sixth time he raised his hand, it was finally his turn.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Professor Lin just said that China relied on large-scale infrastructure construction to overcome the Asian financial crisis and drive its rapid economic development in recent years. Could this large-scale infrastructure construction lead to path dependence?"

Professor Lin nodded approvingly: "This is a very insightful question. Infrastructure construction is a necessary means to break through development bottlenecks at this stage. Only with well-developed infrastructure such as electricity, transportation, ports, and communications can we attract investment, reduce transaction costs, and transform comparative advantages into competitive advantages. Without sufficient infrastructure, even with cheap labor and resources, it will be difficult for China's industries to grow in scale."

"The path dependence you mentioned represents a potential danger of infrastructure-driven economic development. Therefore, government regulation is necessary to correct disorderly and excessive infrastructure spending through government guidance. That's what the government has been doing all along."

Chen Guiliang then asked, "Professor Lin just mentioned the role of real estate in driving the economy. The government can certainly regulate disorderly and excessive infrastructure construction, but how can it regulate the real estate market? At the current rate of real estate development, it will inevitably drag down upstream and downstream enterprises, and even the entire society and ordinary people. If the real estate market collapses, what will happen to upstream and downstream enterprises? How will the large number of unemployed people be dealt with?"

Professor Lin's expression turned serious: "Therefore, when using real estate to stimulate the economy, we cannot rely too heavily on it. The central government has been regulating the real estate market for two consecutive years to prevent the situation you described from occurring."

Chen Guiliang said, "Leaving aside the fact that businessmen are driven by profit, a large number of real estate companies will inevitably emerge. In my small county, after the tax system was decentralized, the county faced financial difficulties, and my junior high school teachers couldn't even receive their salaries. Once the real estate market develops, the county will definitely sell land like crazy to support the real estate industry in order to solve its financial problems..."

"If major cities across the country rely on land sales to guarantee their revenue, the high leverage of real estate companies will inevitably become tied to local finances. Will this trigger systemic financial risks? In the end, will both local governments and real estate companies be unable to repay their massive debts to banks?"

Professor Lin said, "What you said makes a lot of sense, and it's something that leaders and scholars need to consider. I can only say that the central government will intervene at any time. Once infrastructure development is complete and China's industrial scale has grown, we need to upgrade our industries to get rid of the economy's excessive dependence on real estate."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I think it's hard to get rid of it. It's the livelihood of too many people, and it will be the livelihood of more and more people. It's even possible that the more we regulate, the faster housing prices will rise. Millions of canal workers depend on it for their livelihood."

Chen Guiliang recalled a price increase and inventory reduction event from a certain year.

There's no way around it; if you enjoy the benefits of real estate development, you have to bear the corresponding consequences.

Professor Lin could not answer this question, much less solve it; if asked again, he could only say that regulation and intervention were necessary.

How exactly should it be regulated?

Each stage is different, but we must maintain the basic approach of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts".

Professor Lin asked, "What's your name?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Chen Guiliang."

Professor Lin smiled and said, "I've heard of you. Judging from the questions you asked today, I think you have a very long-term vision. And it's a vision that takes a broad and far-sighted approach. If you get into CCER in the future, I can be your mentor."

CCER is called the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, and it will be renamed the National School of Development in two years.

Besides Professor Lin, the founders included many other prominent figures, such as the later governor of the central bank.

Chen Guiliang has no plans to pursue a master's or doctoral degree for the time being.

Even for those admitted through direct admission, a written exam is still required. There's also an English requirement: a score of 550 or higher on the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6), as postgraduate studies require access to a large amount of English materials.

It's better not to embarrass yourself. Would you rather bring a translator with you when you go to graduate school?
Let's focus on graduating with my bachelor's degree first.

Chen Guiliang smiled shyly.

He didn't give a direct answer, but the other students were filled with envy.

Anyone who gets Professor Lin's promise will definitely study economics and professional English like crazy—Beijing students who want to be recommended for CCER must have a GPA in the top 10 of the School of Economics, in addition to the English requirement.

But while I admire them, I can't bring myself to be jealous.

Because of the questions Chen Guiliang just asked, they couldn't come up with any answers, and they had never even thought about it in that direction.

Some students even thought to themselves: "Is this the true value of a successful entrepreneur? They certainly have a high level of insight. No wonder they started their business in their freshman year and are now worth over a billion."

After class, Chen Guiliang unlocked his bicycle outside the teaching building.

Seeing Professor Lin also come out, he asked, "Where is Professor Lin going?"

"The entrance to the underground parking lot on the southwest side," Professor Lin said.

Chen Guiliang patted the back seat of the bicycle: "Want a ride?"

"Hahaha." Professor Lin laughed, amused.

(End of this chapter)