Economists look to German model to explain China’s crackdowns

German-style regulation appeals to China in several ways. Germany has large state-owned banks, a strong manufacturing export sector, and it hasn’t experienced a financial crisis since World War II.

SEEKING to understand Beijing’s regulatory crackdown, some economists are looking over 4,500 miles away to an unlikely inspiration: Berlin.

China has turned from "the American way” to "the German way,” Chen Li, a senior strategist at brokerage Soochow Securities Co., wrote in a recent presentation that was widely shared on Chinese social media.