If the latecomer’s advantage implied by the income gap between the four NIEs and the US enabled the NIEs to realize average annual GDP growth rates of 7.6%-9.2% for 20 years, China’s annual growth potential should be a similar 8% for the 2008-2028 period. To realize its potential growth as a latecomer, China needs, above all, to deepen its market-oriented reforms, address various structural problems, and develop its economy according to its comparative advantages.
如果说亚洲四小龙和美国之间的收入差距相对应的后发优势使得四国在20年间实现了7.6%~9.2%的GDP年增长，那么类似的，中国在2008-2028年间每年的增长潜力应该是8%。而为了将自身的后发增长潜力变为现实，中国首先要深化市场化改革，解决各种结构性问题，并根据自身的比较优势来发展经济。