Contributed By By Jesscy Chua
God is the best economist, says Zhao. CN PHOTO: Michael Chan
You accepted Christ in 2003. Can you share with us what triggered your final surrender to Christ?
Yes, I was an atheist but also a scholar. As a scholar, I respect the truth. I went to Boston in 2002 to study the American economy and I saw many churches there. My suspicions about Christianity led me to study the Bible, and as I read it, I was convicted by what was written in it.
How do you reconcile the God of the Bible with the field of economics?
I realized that God is the best economist. An economist can only perform a forecast of the economy up to five years but with God, the forecast stretches for generations. Just look at Abraham: God prophesized about his descendants—from his children to Jesus and all the way to us. Knowledge is not always rational but just look at the example of the U.S. In the bible, the Jews are God’s blessed people and during the persecution of the Jews in Europe, the U.S. became a shelter for the Jew as it accepted the large-scale Jewish migration. Today, the U.S. economy is the world’s largest economy. China has also been a shelter for the Jews, so I believe God has blessed China too.
What is the motivation behind your passion in advocating Christ into the economy?
The economy of China has grown but there is a hole in the transformation and the value system of China. I believe Jesus can mend that hole. If the hole is not closed, problems will arise in China’s trade in future. This is why integrity must be instilled. But man is not trustworthy; only God is. Anyway, what is the point of earning so much money but you end up losing your soul? What is your motive? But when we have Christ, we will do business for His glory and we will understand that we are God’s stewards tasked to manage His money on earth. And when China receives its blessings, we will be able to bring so much more blessings to the world.
How do you encourage those in the marketplace to make an impact for Christ?
For working people, the best place to serve God is definitely at their workplace. They must understand that whatever they do, they work as unto the Lord. Of course, entrepreneurs have certain qualities such as management abilities and creativity which are highly transferable when they serve in the church. However, they must know that their enterprise is the Kingdom’s enterprise and is an extension of the church.
And in what practical ways can Christian entrepreneurs help spread the gospel in the marketplace?
Entrepreneurs can help to “open up” the Church into the world—for instance, my church usually holds two meetings annually and locally, and has been doing so for the past years. But this year we are going international, first to Taipei and the next to Dubai; we are also planning for our future meetings to be held overseas.
