On the occasion of the visit of the hbs president, Ms. Barbara Unmüßig, to Beijing at the end of 2013, the hbs China office has, jointly with the Consensus Media Group, held a podium discussion on development, growth and sustainability between the hbs president and one of China’s most influential intellectuals, the economic historian Prof. Qin Hui. Barbara’s contribution focused mostly on the discussion about a new understanding of prosperity within planetary boundaries, as well as on critical reflections regarding potential and limitations of the green economy. Prof. Qin admitted that while the concept of environmental protection was largely introduced from the West, it is necessary for China to conduct the debate around its sustainability within the specific Chinese context. He pointed out that China’s environmental problems were not simply the result of a GDP-growth-driven process of industrialization, but are also closely linked to the question of political structures and institutions. A summary of the entire debate in Chinese can be found at the web-site of Consensus Media.
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