A better understanding

His approach to the subject is in line with the philosophy of being practical that he has upheld over the years. It was Lu's ambition of putting economic theories into practice that pushed him to return to China from Singapore, where he had worked as an associate professor with tenure at the Department of Economics, National University of Singapore.

"My major focus has been the Chinese economy, but related studies abroad were mainly conducted through data analysis, not thorough enough," Lu says. "I wanted to get in the field, communicate with related government organs and better understand it."

Lu has begun to help the People's Bank of China analyze quarterly economic situations and work with regional financial departments on medical services.

"It is good to have a long-term cooperation mechanism with them, since we have different edges and can complement each other for better results," Lu says.

When he has time, Lu conducts field research across the country to get a better sense of what is happening on the ground. He also pays attention to rural development. Although it is impossible for him to stay in villages for a long time, he says, he has been able to offer solutions by working with others.

He studied biology at Fudan University in 1999. "It was under my family's advice, for better prospects of a promising job," he says.