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On October 1, 2025, Academician Alexander Dynkin, President of IMEMO, moderated Session IX "Freedom and Dependence: Development Amid Political Conflicts and Economic Turmoil?" at the XXII Annual Meeting of the “Valdai” Discussion Club.

Geopolitical and military conflicts are impacting the global economy, dramatically complicating development. Beyond political pressure, the cumulative debt of global economies is growing, having already exceeded $100 trillion. Growing debt and the ensuing slide into ever-deeper dependency are tools of liberal globalization. However, political disagreements and the punitive instrumentalization of the economy are putting an end to the previous model. At Session IX of the XXII Annual Meeting of the “Valdai” Discussion Club, participants discussed whether a more equitable path is possible.

Speakers:

• •    Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund;
• •    Paulo Batista Nogueira, independent economist; Executive Director of IMF (2007–2015); Vice President of the New Development Bank (2015–2017);
• •    Umid Abidkhadjaev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Director of the Institute of Macroeconomic and Regional Studies under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
• •    Lee Siwook, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy;
• •    Natalia Stapran, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Expertise "Third Rome".

On the afternoon of October 1, Alexander Lomanov, Deputy Director of IMEMO and Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences, spoke at the Special Session of the Meeting, "Man and Time: The Role of the Individual in Political History." He presented a paper titled "The Power of the Individual and the Rule of Law in Chinese Politics".

Tradition has had a significant influence on the understanding of leadership and institutions in China. For centuries, the idea of ​​institutional constraints has been inextricably linked to the morality of the ruler. This theme developed in the context of modern society through the debate about the relationship between human power and the rule of law that took place in the early years of China's reform policy. Over time, moral criteria for evaluating officials, rooted in Chinese tradition, became an integral complement to the fundamental strategy of "governance by law." Today, the role of the individual has increased in Chinese politics amid profound institutional reforms.