Wen Tiejun (; born May 1951) is a Chinese agricultural economist who is a professor at the

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. The ...

Biography

Wen was born in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, in May 1951, while his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

Changli County Changli () is a county of northeastern Hebei province, China, with some Bohai Sea coast. It is under the administration of the Qinhuangdao City, and borders Funing County, Hebei, Funing County and Luan County. Both Beijing–Harbin Railway and Chi ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

. After graduating from the Journalism Department of the

in 1983, he was sent by the Chinese government to study in the Institute of Social Investigation of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, and then studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. After returning to China, Wen studied in both the School of Economics and Management and the Graduate School of

China Agricultural University China Agricultural University (CAU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. It is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. The un ...

. He successively worked in the Research Office of the General Political Department of the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

, the Central Rural Policy Research Office, the Liaison Office of the Rural Development Research Center of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative authority of China, headed by the Premier * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of S ...

, the Office of the National Rural Reform Experimental Zone, the Rural Economic Research Center of the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, and the China Economic System Reform Research Association.

Views

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Wen critiqued China's approach to rural marketization and nationwide

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

policies. He criticized state-directed rural modernization and what he viewed as the fetishization of technocratic modernization models. Wen often expresses his views of sustainable development with reference to the concept of

ecological civilization Ecological civilization is the hypothetical concept that describes the alleged final goal of social and environmental reform within a given society. It implies that the changes required in response to global climate disruption and social injustice ...

. Wen's approach to ecological civilization emphasizes the need to maintain traditional rural ways of living while supporting income parity, small-scale production, and social justice. As of at least 2023, Wen's interpretations of the ecological civilization concept are a minority view within Chinese political and academic discourse on the subject.

Publications

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Co-authored publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wen, Tiejun 1951 births Living people Economists from Beijing Agricultural economists Renmin University of China alumni Academic staff of Renmin University of China China Agricultural University alumni