Economy of China

Essay by jaine82University, Bachelor'sA-, April 2005

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Introduction - The Profile of China

In any discussion of the world population problem, china is usually the first country mentioned, along, perhaps, with India. China is the third largest country in the world with a landmass of total 9,596,960 sq km, which encompasses of a total land: 9,326,410 sq km and water: 270,550 sq km. It is located in Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam. (Refer to Appendix 1 for a more detailed outlook on China).

In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment.

The result has been a multiplication of GDP since 1978.

This leadership style is a result of its hybrid system. Through this, the government has struggled to:

1. sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force;

2. reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and

3. keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions

Since 2002, China has witnessed rapid growth in urbanization, industrialization and improvement on the consumption level, while actively participating in global...