The world is undergoing accelerated transformation unseen in a century, and the Chinese economy stands at a critical historical juncture as it transitions from "high-speed growth" to "high-quality development." Against this backdrop, how can we reshape the deep connection between national development and human development? Recently, the new book Investing in People, authored by Professor Yu Miaojie—Fellow of the Royal Economic Society (FREcon), Fellow of the International Economic Association of the United Nations, and President of Liaoning University—has been officially published by Liaoning University Press.
Professor Yu Miaojie has long been deeply engaged in research on China's economic development. This book is another major work following his New Development Philosophy: The Foundation of Chinese Modernization and New Quality Productive Forces: The Engine of Chinese Modernization, systematically elaborating on policy orientations and governance logic in the new development stage.
"Investing in People" is not only a conceptual innovation in macroeconomic policy but also a key lever for driving high-quality development. How can we stabilize expectations, strengthen confidence, and advance reform in a complex and volatile domestic and international environment? Investing in People offers unique answers.
This book brings together the author's cutting-edge discourses, policy interpretations, and in-depth interviews on China's economic transformation. It systematically analyzes the logical context and action pathways behind high-quality development from six dimensions: Overview; Institutional Innovation and Governance Modernization; Labor Rights and Livelihood Security; Regional Revitalization and the Real Economy; Open Cooperation and Global Vision; Talent Cultivation and Future Development. Grounded in China's practice, the book pays attention to both the top-level design of macro policies and the micro-level warmth of grassroots governance. It focuses not only on the immediate challenges of economic operation but also looks forward to the strategic layout for the 15th Five-Year Plan period and beyond.
This book serves as both an instant record of the pulse of China's economy at a critical historical juncture and an in-depth reader for understanding the intrinsic logic of Chinese modernization. Whether policy researchers, economic practitioners, or ordinary readers concerned about China's future development, all can find their own intellectual coordinates within its pages. By reading this book, readers will more clearly grasp the deep logic of "high-quality development," truly feel the contemporary warmth of "investing in people," and anchor the direction of certainty for China's steady and sustained economic progress amid a changing development landscape.
Author Profile:
Professor Miaojie Yu,1976, is a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society (post-nominal designation FREcon), Fellow of the International Economic Association (IEA Fellow), Distinguished Professor under the Changjiang Scholars Program, and recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He serves as a Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee and President of Liaoning University, a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, a special supervisor of the National Supervisory Commission, a member of the Standing Committee of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress, and Vice President of Liaoning Provincial Discipline Inspection Society.
He ranks among the world’s top 1% highly cited economists in economics and management sciences globally, and remains the only Chinese scholar to have won the Royal Economic Society Prize. He is the sole Associate Editor for Asia of The Economic Journal, a top-tier international economics journal founded in 1891. His academic honors also include the inaugural Young Changjiang Scholar (2015), Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist, Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University, expert consultant for trade and economic policies of the Ministry of Commerce, and director of the China-U.S. Research Think Tank Alliance affiliated with the Ministry of Finance. He holds an honorary professorship at Irkutsk State University (Russia), sits on the international advisory board of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, and earned his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Davis in 2005.
Professor Yu also holds concurrent posts as Vice President of the China Society for World Economics, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Quantitative Economics, Vice Chairman of the China Industrial Economics Association, NPC liaison representative for finance and budgetary affairs, Vice Chairman of Liaoning Federation of Social Sciences, and a member of the Legislative Affairs Committee of Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress. He has been retained as a specialist advisor by the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, China’s Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, the Counsellors’ Office of the State Council and multiple local governments, and was invited to deliver a keynote report on China’s economic development at UN Headquarters. He is a recipient of the Special Government Allowance from the State Council of China.
His primary research covers international trade and China’s economic development. He has published over 230 papers in flagship domestic and international journals including The Economic Journal, Review of Economics & Statistics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Economic Research Journal and Management World, alongside 39 monographs, textbooks and commentaries in Chinese, English and German. He is the chief editor of Open-door Economics of China, an original textbook for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, and Chief Principal Investigator for a major project funded by the National Social Science Fund of China. In editorial capacities, he serves as Associate Editor of The Economic Journal and Review of International Economics, Editor-in-Chief of China Development Journal, Honorary Editor-in-Chief of International Trade sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Liaoning University and Japanese Studies, and Executive Editor of Journal of Chang’an University.
He has won three Outstanding Achievement Awards in Philosophy and Social Sciences from the Ministry of Education, the Wu Yuzhang Humanities and Social Sciences Research Prize, the Zhang Peigang Development Economics Prize, and five An Zijie International Trade Research Awards. His Chinese monograph Processing Trade and Firm Productivity has earned the Liu Shibai Economics Prize, Hu Sheng Young Scholar Academic Award, National Trade Development Research Award, China Young Economist Award, Liaoning Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Outstanding Achievement Award and Beijing Municipal Excellent Achievement Award for Philosophy and Social Sciences. His English monograph China-US Trade War & Trade Talk was granted the Nature-Springer China New Development Award.
During Peking University’s 120th anniversary celebration in 2018, he was received by Xi Jinping as a distinguished young and middle-aged faculty representative. In 2019, he attended a high-level forum presided over by the Premier of the State Council as an outstanding representative marking the 25th anniversary of the National Distinguished Young Scholars Program. In 2024, he visited the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation as a member of the youth delegation of the National People’s Congress. In 2025, as a special supervisor of the National Supervisory Commission, he attended the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection as an observer, and enrolled in the 58th Training Class for Young and Middle-aged Cadres at the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC in the second half of the same year. In 2026, he was invited to sit in on sessions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and shared insights at a representative forum chaired by Zhao Leji, and attended the China-Italy University Presidents’ Forum and China-Belarus University Presidents’ Forum as a leading Chinese university president representative.
