Adviser reckons China can achieve constant growth of 8%

Hong Kong

JUSTIN Lin, former chief economist at the World Bank, has been a pro-growth champion of the controversial view that the Chinese economy can grow at the rate of 8 per cent, non-stop for the next 20 years. Whether he eventually prevails over the many opponents to his view could shape China's future growth trajectory.

His view matters because he was the only scholar from the emerging world to take the top economist job at the World Bank, with the backing of the Chinese government. From 2008 until June last year, he oversaw the bank's research, coming up with economic guidance to help the global communities cope with the fallout of the recent financial crisis.