Two experts debate whether China has a development model, what this model holds for the future and whether the nation needs to retool its development pattern.

Zheng Yongnian: The paradigm and its future

In 2009, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed during a speech at Cambridge University that China has been a "learning state" since its reform and opening-up. "Learning" in this context has two connotations. It refers to learning from all countries around the world. China has been eagerly learning from international experiences, from large countries like the US to small countries like Singapore. Though criticisms from the West will always exist, they have never dampened China's enthusiasm to learn. Learning also refers to drawing upon China's own experiences, positive or negative.