25th Sino-US Political and Economic Forum Held

25th Sino-US Political and Economic Forum: “Why ‘Poverty’: The Historical Evolution, Contemporary Realities, and Structural Causes of Poverty in the United States” Report Release and Seminar Held

On May 28, 2026, the 25th Sino-U.S. Political and Economic Forum, hosted by the National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS) at Renmin University of China, was livestreamed online. The forum was moderated by ZHAO Yong, Research Fellow at NADS and Professor at the School of Economics, Renmin University of China.

In Session I, MA Boyang, Research Fellow at NADS, presented the report titled “Why ‘Poverty’: The Historical Evolution, Contemporary Realities, and Structural Causes of Poverty in the United States”.

The report focused on the following key themes:

1. A Divided American Society: Why Do Prosperity and Poverty Coexist?

2. From Moral Condemnation to Institutional Retrenchment: The Historical Evolution of Poverty Governance in the United States

3. Working Poverty and the “Cliff Effect”: The Poverty Trap in American Society

4. Globalization, Financialization, and the Individualization of Risk: Structural Causes of Poverty in the United States

5. Key Findings

In Session II, the experts engaged in in-depth discussions on relevant topics and the content of the report.

HU Jiangyun, Research Fellow and Level II Bureau Rank Official at the Development Research Center of the State Council, spoke highly of the report, noting that it draws on extensive data from U.S. government agencies and research institutions, as well as relevant laws and regulations, to provide an in-depth structural and comparative analysis of poverty in the United States from a distinctive perspective. LI Xia, Director of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Research Division at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Research Fellow, and Secretary-General of the Research Center for Cultural Rule of Law, shared her reflections on the report from three perspectives: academic insights, legal analysis, and a comparative examination of Chinese and U.S. institutional frameworks. LI Xiangyang, Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Research Fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and President of the Chinese Association of Asia-Pacific Studies, shared his comments on the report’s analysis of poverty in the United States from three perspectives. SONG Guoyou, Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor, noted that poverty in the United States is a “rich vein” of research that has long been overlooked despite its considerable academic value. He emphasized that the issue connects several core themes in American studies, including economic development, political polarization, culture and religion, and racial tensions. ZHANG Yongjun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Secretary-General of the Council, and Research Fellow at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, noted that despite the United States’ high per capita GDP and income levels, poverty has persisted for decades, a situation closely related to the limited effectiveness of its poverty alleviation policies. ZHU Bin, Vice Dean of the School of Social Research at Renmin University of China and Executive Director of the Institute of Social Work and Development, emphasized that academic research on inequality in the United States has expanded beyond the income dimension to encompass a broader range of dimensions.

Proofreaders: WANG Wei, ZHAO Yong and MA Boyang

Executive Editors: LIU Qi, ZHANG Jingjing, YANG Fanxin

Translator: ZHANG Yuqing

Web Editor: YANG Fanxin