I was disappointed but hardly shocked. In 2024, I was informed that, while I could still attend the CDF, I would not be allowed to speak in any public sessions. My views on China (and especially Hong Kong) had turned more cautious, and I was told that my comments on the Chinese economy had “generated intense scrutiny and even controversy” among the Chinese and foreign press, which suggested to them that any comments I made at the CDF would be “misinterpreted and even sensationalised” by the media. The organisers were explicit that this would not be in my — or China’s — best interest.
A few years ago, I had a hunch that China’s long-standing culture of spirited debate over economic policy would disappear. And now that has come to pass. That is the message sent by the sad demise of the China Development Forum (CDF), a gathering that I had the privilege of attending since its inception.
Until this year, that is. After participating in 25 consecutive CDFs — making me the longest-attending foreign delegate — I was not invited in 2026. The organisers belatedly sent a perfunctory note thanking me for my participation over the years, along with their wishes for “a very healthy, happy, and prosperous Year of the Horse.”
