If there were a ‘Chinese model,’ what would its components be?

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China’s economy grew 75-fold between 1978 and 2016 to 11.19 trillion US dollars. During the same period, some 700 million people were lifted out of poverty in the country. Now, the world’s second-largest economy contributes to more than 30 percent of global economic growth.

China’s astronomical economic development over the past few years has been dubbed a "miracle" with many in the West relentlessly trying to put their finger on what has been called the "Chinese model".

Does China really have a set formula on which it builds its economic policies? What is China’s recipe for success?

"Incredible hard work," Clare Pearson, former chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, said on CGTN’s The Point (@thepointwithlx) in response to a question about what comes to her mind when she hears the term "Chinese model".

Pearson relayed the content of an interview she had read about a man who lived in China and the US, and became a mayor in both countries.

Asked where it was harder being an official, the man, Pearson continued, admitted that the run-up to the election in the US was extremely difficult and worrisome, but after he got elected it was an easy ride. In China, it was the complete opposite, she noted, saying that after elections the man's neck was "on the (chopping) block for the GDP of that province".

"In China, you’ve got KPIs (key performance indicators) to drive the local economy," she went on to say. "If those politicians directly responsible fail to deliver it around, they have no plan B."

Xu Qingduo, a current affairs commentator, agreed with Pearson that for Chinese officials, performance matters more than promises.

"Your legitimacy comes from your performance," Xu stated, adding that a person’s track record in China is of utmost importance.

He noted that the "Chinese model" is a pure academic term, stressing that there has been "no reasonable theory to explain why China has been so successful over the past four decades."

The term is a Western construct, he said.

"If you look at Chinese government documents or speeches by Chinese officials, the 'Chinese model' has never been mentioned."

For his part, Bulelani Jili, a Yenching scholar at Peking University, argued that "it is preposterous to say that there is exactly a (Chinese) model" because if one indeed existed, it would be easy to replicate it. But that's not the case, he added, stressing that "China sits at a particularly unique place in the world".

So what exactly is unique about China?

There is no "one unique thing," Jili contended. It’s a "number of unique things," he added, most notably a "centralized government that is able to work hand-in-hand with the economic sector," which he said was not common elsewhere.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330 GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130 GMT) and 10.30 a.m (0230 GMT).