New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- The Chinese development model-commonly referred to as the Beijing Consensus-has become a key reference point in global political and economic discussions over the last two decades. Unlike the liberal, market-driven trajectory followed by Western democracies, China has carved out a distinctive path that blends authoritarian governance with selective economic liberalization. Rising from the shadows of a colonial past and what it describes as the "Century of Humiliation", China has engineered a historic ascent to become the world's second-largest economy.

In 1978, at the dawn of Deng Xiaoping's reform era, more than 60% of China's population lived in extreme poverty. The country was overwhelmingly rural, under-industria...