On this episode of China Field Notes, host Scott Kennedy talks with Yao Yang, one of China’s most thoughtful and influential economists. Yao, who spent most of his career at Peking University and recently moved to the Dishuihu Advanced Finance Institute at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, discusses his entry into the economics profession, the sources of China’s growth, why Xiaomi is currently his favorite Chinese company, the challenge of tackling involution, and the state of U.S.-China relations, and his own ongoing research.