One in every six people in the world is Chinese. China has amassed its resources to turn a population advantage into economic might.

China’s economic growth over the past 25 years is probably the largest and most sustained period of wealth creation in the history of the world. In 1800, China generated 25 percent of the world’s industrial output. By 1975, it had fallen to 1.5 percent. It is now on its way back to 25 percent.

China is now a dominant and influential player in the global economy - its foreign reserves, which exceed US$3 trillion, are now the largest in the world. And its growth is likely to continue over the next decade:

• Chinese households with an annual disposable income of over US$10,000 (in nominal terms) will almost quadruple by 2021 – from 57.1 million households to 222 million.
• 200 of the world’s top 700 cities will be in China in the next decade, requiring 97 new airports and 30,000km of new railways.

Beijing National Stadium
• With China moving to a domestic consumption growth model, China’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) will rise significantly in the next 10 years.
• By some calculations China is on track to become the world’s largest economy in the next decade, yet it is still a developing country.

As part of the 12th 5-Year Plan, the Chinese government will:

• boost expenditure on research and development to 2.2 percent of GDP
• aim to meet its ambitious targets for the registration of patents
• encourage internationally based Chinese researchers to return to China
• recruit 2,000 foreign experts to work in national laboratories.
  

By 2015, China will have the biggest research and development workforce in the world. This concentrated investment in technology has led to China emerging as an innovator in sectors such as aviation, clean energy, finance, telecommunications and science.

China’s increasing economic success has given it greater influence in regional and international politics. Its prosperity has driven prosperity and stability throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

 

 

 

 

top of page

Back to Opening doors to China