Since the announcement of the Chinese ‘reform and opening up’ policy, which was introduced in 1978, the economy of the People's Republic of China became the world's second greatest economic power after the United States. By 2011, the average annual GDP growth was more than 9%.
The current leadership, which has been governing the country since 2013, declared its intention to continue the reforms necessary to maintain a sustainable and balanced economic growth. The 13th five-year-plan, announced in October 2015, sets a less ambitious growth target and focuses on the modification of the previous export-oriented economic system and the stimulation of domestic demand. With 7.4% GDP growth in 2014 and the 6.9% growth in 2015, the Chinese leadership presumes an annual 6-7% GDP growth in the next few years. This projected economic development is also referred as the ‘New Normal’ by the leadership, which emphasizes the better quality of the economic indicators. It includes the following factors: declining inflation, more rigorous environmental standards, slowing increase of raw material and energy demand, etc.
The goal of the recently announced "Made in China 2025" program, based on the German ‘Industry 4.0’ program is to increase the global competitiveness of Chinese enterprises, to decrease the governmental role within the economy, to enhance the role of innovative technologies and creative workforce by developing a knowledge-based society. FDI outflows from China is expected to exceed 1250 billion USD over the next decade.
The economic development of the country shows regional differences. The coastal area of the country is more developed, industrialized and its GDP/capita is higher than the inland areas. The Chinese government supports the development of these inland areas by creating special economic zones and encouraging large-scale infrastructure investments. The ‘New Silk Road’ initiative, announced in 2013, also aims to further increase the pace of modernization.
Main statistics of China and indicators of Chinese economy can be found in the first and second chapters of the ‘Staistics’ sub-page.
