PAUL SOLMAN:

Why? The obvious answer is Chinese communism, which, starting in 1958, led the economy's great leap backward. Free market reforms begun 20 years later are credited with reversing China's fortunes.

But critics like Huang think China hasn't yet reformed its economy in the most important way: Fostering an open market not just for goods and labor, but for investment. And that's because so many of the banks and businesses in China are still largely controlled or owned by the government, he says — a lousy recipe for success.