The People’s Republic of China, after more than 3 decades of growth, has now become the second largest economy in the world, just after the United States[i]. With an average growth rate of 10%, China has slowly but steadily claimed its position as the fastest growing economy today.

Since its reform in the late 1970s, China has decentralized its system and opened its doors to a more liberal, diversified international marketplace, widely expanding its private sector while playing a vital role in the global economy. With this reform also came the increase in living standards, with millions of people being lifted out of poverty. By 2005, China’s official statistics reported a 2.5% poverty rate, a significant drop from over 50% in the early 1980s. In 2007, China surpassed Germany with a $3.4 trillion GDP, its fastest growth ever since 1994.

With an emerging economy and industrial deregulation, many industries in China are still in their infancy stages and thus attract numerous businesses and large corporations to enter the market at an early point, not to mention China’s favoritism towards foreign investment. The Wall Street Journal reports more than 10 million small businesses in 2010, accounting for over 60% of China’s economy and 80% of jobs. In addition, China’s global trade surpassed $2.4 trillion in 2008.

Forecasted to spend over $1 trillion in environmental products and technology by 2013[ii], China has paved the way to larger import and export trends with an import value surge of 47.2% early 2010, according to China Knowledge. Global Water Intelligence states that China’s 5-year plan to protect the environment will cost over $450 billion. Current plans include waterwaste management and treatment, as well as pollution control, a pending issue that China has faced for a long time. The country has already invested $34.6 billion in clean technology in 2009, and is looking at adding more funds into this project.

The Chinese currency, Renminbi (RMB), was previously pegged to the U.S. dollar, which has resulted in criticism of its stability and negative impact on world trade. Up until mid 2005, the peg was removed and the currency was revalued at 8.11 per U.S. dollar[iii]. Other names for RMB are “yuan” and “kuai”.

Of the vast lands and space in China, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong rank the top three Mega Cities in the country. The latest study of the Hunan Research Institute based in Shanghai, Beijing along has over 151,000 individuals with personal wealth of over 10 million RMB, making Beijing the richest capital city in China. Also known as Peking, Beijing is the capital of The People’s Republic of China and serves as a major transportation hub for the country.

China’s population stands at over 1.3 billion people[iv] and is also the second largest consumer of energy in the world today[v].

[ii] http://www.china-greentech.com/sites/default/files/CGTR2009-FullReport.pdf

[iii] http://www.danwei.org/china_information/china_currency_trade_revaluati.php

[iv] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China

[v] http://www.china-greentech.com/sites/default/files/CGTR2009-FullReport.pdf

Tags: china