A livestreamed dialogue was hosted last Friday to discuss the new book Dynamism by economist and Nobel Prize laureate Edmund Phelps, and the broader topic of "how innovation can inspire social dynamism".

The dialogue, included in a series of talks entitled "Lite", was co-organized by CITIC Press Group and Wallstreet CN and supported by the National School of Development and Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University.

Joining Phelps in the discussion were Justin Yifu Lin, former World Bank chief economist and the present dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, and Xue Lan, dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University.

"The fundamental premise of dynamism is that people from all walks of life, not just scientists and technicians, possess inborn powers to conceive new things and go on to create, whether or not scientists have opened up new possibilities," Phelps said. "In highly innovative nations, much of the innovating is indigenous. It springs from the powers of originality and creativity among large numbers of people working in the nation's economy."

Lin said the book has important implications for China in meeting the second centenary goal: "We can only meet these ambitious goals through dynamic economic development and continuous innovations."