Interview: Creativity essential for China's avoiding middle income trap -- U.S. expert

Visitors view intelligent entertainment robots at the Venture Week for International Elites in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 10, 2016. The venture week kicked off here on Sunday, with the participation of creative talents from more than 20 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Wang Jianzhong)

Creativity will be essential for the success of China in addressing challenges such as the middle income trap in terms of adjusting the country's model of growth, said a leading U.S. expert.

"If you look at the larger picture of history, China has produced an extraordinary transformation, and raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It has been a great success story," said Joseph Nye, a distinguished service professor at Harvard University.

"China has been quite effective in its development, the question is how it will adapt as things change," Nye said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"When circumstances change, you have problems like growing old before you grow rich; when the demographic changes, you have the problem of avoiding the middle income trap in terms of adjusting your model of growth," he said.

The middle income trap refers to a theorized economic development situation where a country which attains a certain income will get stuck at that level.

"These are major challenges for the Chinese party and the Chinese government. And I think the creativity with which we address (these challenges) will be essential for the success of China," he said.