In spite of increasingly unsettling factors and
the slow recovery of the global economy, China's economy has
maintained vigorous development, which has attracted growing
attention from the international community.
China's fast economic
development has made great contributions to the progress and
prosperity of the global economy, and particularly to the
stabilization and recovery of the world economy in recent
years.Over the past 20-odd years since reform
and opening-up, China's economy has maintained sustained and
rapid development, with annual growth of GDP averaging 9.3
percent between 1978-2001. In 2002, the country's GDP
exceeded 1,000 billion yuan, a rise of 8 percent on the
previous year. Along with the rapid development of the
national economy, China's poor population (with individual
daily spending lower than USS1) has dropped by 147 million,
or 84.5 percent of the total reduced poor population in East
Asia. To date, China's population in abject poverty has
declined to around 30 million. Poverty, a problem plaguing
many countries worldwide, has seriously affected the steady
and sustainable development of the global economy. The
sustained and rapid development of China's economy and the
continuous improvement in the Chinese people's living
standards has made great contributions to the sustainable
development and prosperity of mankind. According to the
World Bank, in terms of stabilized prices, the rate of
China's contribution to global economic growth was 14
percent between 1980-2000, against 20.7 percent of the
United States and 7 percent of Japan. During the same
period, the rate of China's contribution to global trade
growth reached 4.7 percent, ranking third in the world
following the United States (14.4 percent) and Japan (6.9
percent). The latest calculation of Morgan Stanley indicated
that the rate of China's contribution to global economic
development rose to 17.5 percent in 2002.
China has become the most attractive
commodity market in the world.China used to be a
huge "potential market". Today, however, with the
sustained and rapid development of its economy, China has
become the most vigorous "available market" in the
world. Numerous Chinese products have gone out to the world,
while large quantities of foreign products have poured into
China. Between 1990-2001, the annual growth of China's
exports and imports reached 14.9 percent and 15.5 percent
respectively, much higher than the respective global rates
of 6.3 percent and 6.5 percent. The low-cost but good
products exported by China have benefited many consumers
worldwide, helping the consumers in the United States alone
save USS 15 billion annually. Moreover, they help overseas
purchasers lower their production cost, thereby enhancing
the competitiveness of their products. The swift increase in
China's imports has created numerous job opportunities for
the world. The vigorous development of China's foreign trade
has propelled the free circulation and optimized
distribution of global resources.
China has become
the world's most favored investment destination.Due to global economic recession, developed countries now
have surplus productive capacity and funds. China's rapid
economic growth, gigantic domestic market and ever-improving
investment environment have attracted many transitional
companies that are seeking a way out. They have made
investment in different parts of China, thereby sharing the
results of the country's rapid economic growth. In 2002,
China absorbed more than US$50 billion of overseas
investment, coming first in the world. According to Fortune,
more than 80 percent of the global top 500 companies had
made investment in China by 2001, with the number of
projects funded by them exceeding 2,000. It is worth noting
that a growing number of Chinese companies have made their
way into the world by making investment and setting up
factories in various parts of the world. Though
Chinese-funded businesses abroad are small in number, they
have contributed to the economic development of the
countries and regions in which they are located.
China has become a main force
promoting economic cooperation in Asia and economic recovery
in East Asia.Since the 1990s, with the bursting
of its bubble economy, Japan has undergone economic
stagnation, which weakened its ability to support the
economic growth in East Asia. The Asian financial crisis
that broke out in 1997 hit East Asia's economy severely.
China, as a responsible large country, tightened up its
cooperation with the countries and regions in East Asia to
help them get rid of their difficulties. China's swift
economic growth provided them with a huge export market and
promoted the recovery of East Asia's economy. According to
statistics, the growth in exports from the main Southeast
Asian countries to China increased by more than 100 percent
between 1990-2000. In 2000, the Republic of Korea, ASEAN and
China's Taiwan yielded US$12 billion, US$5 billion and US$20
billion respectively in surplus trade with China's mainland.
China was not only the main source of surplus trade for East
Asian countries and regions, but also a main destination of
their overseas investment. In 2002, China replaced the
United States as the largest investment destination of the
Republic of Korea and Japan.
In addition, China has adopted a series of correct
macro-control policies, including the policy of expanding
domestic demand and proactive fiscal and prudent monetary
policies, to facilitate its rapid economic growth, which has
provided some developing countries with valuable experiences
and promoted in-depth study of development economics.
China is still a developing country,
and in respect to the global economy, its contributions and
impact have remained limited. The praises that liken China
to an "engine" or a "locomotive" of the
regional economy serves to encourage the Chinese people to
work even harder.
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