Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Daniel Bell: China's Meritocracy & Economic Statecraft
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Nov 30, 2025 Daniel A. Bell, Professor at the University of Hong Kong, delves into China's unique political meritocracy, emphasizing leadership selection based on ability and virtue. He contrasts local democratic practices with meritocratic approaches for high-level decisions and discusses the historical roots of meritocracy in imperial China. Bell addresses the implications of China's economic statecraft, the Belt and Road Initiative, and how China's growth is informed by cultural values and educational emphasis, while debunking Western misconceptions about its political model.
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Meritocracy For A Large State
- China mixes local democracy with top-level political meritocracy to match scale and complexity.
- Daniel A. Bell argues leaders are selected for decades-long training, performance, and virtue.
Examinations Drive Equal Opportunity
- Equal opportunity via examinations underpins China's meritocratic ideal from education to bureaucracy.
- Bell notes this system is contextual and not a one-size-fits-all model for smaller countries.
Classroom Sparked A Book
- Bell recalls teaching and working at Tsinghua and Shandong University observing elite debates on leader selection.
- His book on meritocracy grew from direct exposure to Chinese political reform conversations.
