Michael Pettis

Michael Pettis is a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a professor of finance at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, where he specialises in Chinese financial markets. A recognised authority on China’s economy and global macroeconomic imbalances, Pettis combines rigorous academic insight with extensive practical experience in international finance.

Pettis has taught at Tsinghua University and Columbia University, where he also served on advisory boards including the Institute of Latin American Studies and the School of Public and International Affairs. From 1987 to 2001, Michael Pettis held senior positions on Wall Street, including managing director at Bear Stearns and head of emerging markets trading at Credit Suisse First Boston. He advised governments on banking and debt restructuring in Mexico, South Korea, and Macedonia, and served as a partner in a merchant-banking boutique focused on Latin American securitisations.

Pettis is the author of The Great Rebalancing and a prolific commentator on global economic trends. He examines the structural forces shaping today’s global economy, with a focus on China’s debt dynamics, misallocated investment, and the long-term consequences of trade and capital imbalances. His analysis emphasises that sustainable growth depends on productive investment and balanced domestic demand, rather than financial speculation or artificially boosted GDP.

By combining empirical rigor with practical insight, Michael Pettis illuminates the constraints and trade-offs economies face, revealing the often-hidden dynamics that determine growth, stability, and inequality. His work is widely cited by economists, policymakers, and financial institutions seeking to understand the structural drivers of economic growth and instability.