About the Authors
 

Ruixue Jia is Professor of Economics at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego.

Hongbin Li is Co-director of Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, and a Senior Fellow of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University.

Claire Cousineau is a writer and former researcher at the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions, she is currently pursuing her MBA at Duke University.

Availability

The Highest Exam: How the Gaokao Shapes China is available now for purchase from Amazon and elsewhere.  

Upcoming Book Event

Join us on Tuesday, October 21 at 4 PM (Pacific) for a fireside chat with co-authors Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li. The fireside chat will be held in-person in the Bechtel Conference Center and livestreamed for virtual attendees. Learn More & Register
 

Garry Piepenbrock, an economics and political science student, said that “seeing the variety of companies in China” was his favorite part of the program. He added, “there are a lot of big tech firms that we've had the privilege to visit, but also some of my favorite visits were the smaller manufacturers that had really interesting human stories behind them. The people working there and also the people running them. It's a difficult business. It's very competitive. And seeing that side of the Chinese economy was really cool.” 

Throughout the program AI emerged as a hot topic and focal area for China’s technological and economic advancement goals. Zane Sabbagh, a computer science and symbolic systems student, shared his insights on AI development in China, “given China's lag in the AI race, their model is to let one Chinese company win by open sourcing a lot of their models and then hosting other companies' models on their platform. So for example, Tencent’s chatbot and Alibaba chatbot both host DeepSeek’s models on their own app, which is super weird because ChatGPT would never host Anthropic or xAI on its own native iPhone app. That’s something I found super interesting.” 

Students also had the opportunity to compare their own academic experience through visits to multiple academic institutions in China. At the University of Hong Kong, students participated in a lecture given by Professor Zhiwu Chen on understanding Hong Kong’s history. At Peking University, students engaged with Vice Dean Li-An Zhou who gave a brief introduction on China’s economy. In addition to university exchanges, students also visited a migrant school in Beijing where they learned about the education system and connected with the young migrant students. Nazli Dakad, an earth systems student, reflected on the program and shared that, “one of my favorite parts of the trip was the migrant school. I thought that was super eye opening and contrasting to the tech focus that we've had, because it gave me a little more insight into the education system in China.”

Throughout the program students had the opportunity to engage with locals in various settings, from top executives, to factory workers, to locals out and about conducting their daily routines. Students also met with Stanford alumni based in China and learned about their career trajectories after graduation. Several students shared that building connections with people in China has been a highlight for them. Biology major Eva Shen shared, “being Chinese I feel like I've been very disconnected from China in the US, so being able to talk to all these people here [in Chinese] has been the best part for me…getting to hear their perspective, and actually getting to know them as people, has been my favorite part. When we did our interviews in the market back in Shenzhen, and we got to talk to older ladies, they reminded me of my own grandma.”

Cultural immersion was also woven throughout the journey. Students tried their hand at traditional arts such as paper cutting, brush calligraphy, and tea pan-frying; dressed in historical attire for an opera performance in Yiwu and a palace banquet in Hangzhou; and learned crafts like umbrella-making and handmade paper production. These activities provided a tangible connection to China’s long cultural heritage alongside its modern economic dynamism.

By the end of the program, participants had gained a multifaceted perspective on China—its economic drivers, its cultural traditions, and its evolving role on the world stage. “This program was about more than just observation—it was about engagement,” said SCCEI Co-director Hongbin Li. “Our students came away with firsthand experiences and conversations that will shape how they think about China for years to come.”

Discover more on our program page including student reflection videos, program photos, and more.

With insights spanning political economy, institutional economics, and history, Institutional Genes presents a compelling account of why China’s institutions have taken their particular form—why they have resisted democratization—and why its economic reforms have risen and fallen. Xu’s work will appeal to scholars, policymakers, and general readers seeking a deeper understanding of how China’s past continues to shape its political trajectory today. 

Institutional Genes: Origins of China's Institutions and Totalitarianism, previously published in Chinese, is currently available for pre-order and will be published and available to the public on August 21, 2025. For more from Xu, read his recent essay, The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, based on his forthcoming book.

Alicia R. Chen, PhD Candidate in Political Science, Stanford University
Research Topic: Roads to (No) Influence: Domestic Incentives and the Distribution of Chinese Aid

Alicia Chen is a PhD candidate in the political science department at Stanford University. Chen’s research focuses on conflict, development, and international economics, with an empirical focus on Chinese development aid. Chen holds an MA in international policy from Stanford University and a BA in political science from the University of Southern California. Prior to doctoral studies, Chen was a Research Specialist at the Empirical Studies of Conflict (ESOC) project at Princeton University. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field of research?
A: I encourage everyone to do fieldwork in the countries they are interested in studying as early as possible. Media coverage (and even data) often doesn’t capture the full picture, and it was immensely helpful to see for myself what the situation is on the ground.

Q: If you could snap your fingers and have one part of your research magically completed, what would it be?
A: Data collection… Many fieldwork trips end up taking much longer than expected because of bureaucratic delays, and there is not much that can be done to speed up the process.

Matthew DeButts, PhD Candidate in Communication, Stanford University
Research Topic: PRC Influence and Chinese Diasporic Media in the Digital Age

Matt DeButts is a PhD candidate in communication, studying Chinese media, censorship, and propaganda. Before coming to Stanford, Matt wrote about Chinese economics and politics for The Economist Intelligence Unit in Beijing, covered culture as a special correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, and edited the foreign affairs newsletter Legation Quarter. At Stanford, he was a 2023-24 Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) fellow, and a graduate research assistant at the Stanford Internet Observatory. His academic work has been published in the Journal of Communication, Social Media+ Society, and EMNLP Findings.

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field of research?

Q: How would you describe your research to a fifth grader?
A: My research looks into how powerful people, like governments, try to get people to believe things. Sometimes, governments treat you like a grown-up, explaining things and allowing you to decide for yourself. But other times, they treat you like a kid, always thinking they know what’s best for you. My research looks into how and why they do that.

SCCEI offers grants to support exceptional researchers conducting data-driven research related to China's economy. We accept proposals two times per year, Fall and Winter. Visit the SCCEI Research Grants and Fellowships webpage for more details and current opportunities.