Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Energy and mineral resources policy of China

Since 1980, China's energy production has grown dramatically, as has the proportion allocated to domestic consumption. Some 80 percent of all power generated from fossil fuel at thermal plants, with about 17 percent at hydroelectric installations; only about two percent is from nuclear energy, mainly from plants located in Guangdong and Zhejiang.Sony VAIO VGN-Z70B Battery

Though China has rich overall energy potential, most have yet to be developed. In addition, the geographical distribution of energy puts most of these resources relatively far from their major industrial users. Basically the northeast is rich in coal and oil, the central part of north China has abundant coal, and the southwest has immense hydroelectric potential. Sony VAIO VGN-Z71JB Battery

But the industrialized regions around Guangzhou and the Lower Yangtze region around Shanghai have too little energy, while there is relatively little heavy industry located near major energy resource areas other than in the southern part of the northeast.Sony VAIO VGN-Z73FB Battery

Although electric-generating capacity has grown rapidly, it has continued to fall considerably short of demand. This has been partly because energy prices were long fixed so low that industries had few incentives to conserve. In addition, it has often been necessary to transport fuels (notably coal) great distances from points of production to consumption.Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DKX Battery

Coal provides about 70–75 percent of China's energy consumption, although its proportion has been gradually declining. Petroleum production, which grew rapidly from an extremely low base in the early 1960s, has increased much more gradually from 1980. Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DMR Battery

Natural gasproduction still constitutes only a small (though increasing) fraction of overall energy production, but gas is supplanting coal as a domestic fuel in the major cities.

In the 1990s, energy demand rocketed in response to the rapid expansion of the economy but energy production was constrained by limited capital. Sony VAIO VGN-Z790DND Battery

As in other sectors of the state-owned economy, the energy sector suffered from low utilization and inefficiencies in production, transport, conversion, consumption, and conservation. Other problems included declining real prices, rising taxes and production costs, spiraling losses, Sony VAIO VGN-Z820DB Battery

high debt burden, insufficient investment, low productivity, poor management structure, environmental pollution, and inadequate technological development. To keep pace with demand, China sought to increase electric generating capacity to a target level of 290 gigawatts by 2000.Sony VAIO VGN-Z820G/B Battery

According to Chinese statistics, China managed to keep its energy growth rate at just half the rate of GDP growth throughout the 1990s. Though these numbers are not reliable, there has been agreement that China had improved its energy efficiency significantly over this period.Sony VAIO VGN-Z890GLX Battery

In the late 1990s, an estimated 10,000 megawatts of generating capacity was added each year, at an annual cost of about $15 billion. China imported new power plants from the West to increase its generation capacity, and these units then accounted for approximately 20% of total generating capacity. Sony VAIO VGN-Z890GMR Battery

More power generating capacity came on line in the mid-2000s as large scale investments were completed. In 2001, China's total energy consumption was projected to double by 2020. Energy consumption grew at nearly 10 percent per year between 2000 and 2005, more than twice the yearly rate of the previous two decades.Sony VAIO VGN-Z898H/X Battery

In 2003, China surpassed Japan to become the second-largest consumer of primary energy, after the United States. China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil, after the United States, and for 2006, China's increase in oil demand represented 38% of the world total increase in oil demand.Sony VAIO VGN-Z90FS Battery

China is also the third-largest energy producer in the world, after the United States and Russia. China's electricity consumption is expected to grow by over 4% a year through 2030, which will require more than $2 trillion in electricity infrastructure investment to meet the demand. Sony VAIO VGN-Z90NS Battery

China expects to add approximately 15,000 megawatts of generating capacity a year, with 20% of that coming from foreign suppliers.

China, due in large part to environmental concerns, has wanted to shift China's current energy mix from a heavy reliance on coal,Sony VAIO VGN-Z90PS Battery

which accounts for 70–75% of China's energy, toward greater reliance on oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear power. China has closed thousands of coal mines over the past five to ten years to cut overproduction. According to Chinese statistics, this has reduced coal production by over 25%.Sony VAIO VGN-Z90S Battery

Only one-fifth of the new coal power plant capacity installed from 1995 to 2000 included desulfurization equipment. Interest in renewable sources of energy is growing, but except for hydropower, their contribution to the overall energy mix is unlikely to rise above 1–2% in the near future. Sony VAIO VGN-Z90US Battery

China's energy sector continues to be hampered by difficulties in obtaining funding, including long-term financing, and by market balkanization due to local protectionism that prevents more efficient large plants from achieving economies of scale.Sony VAIO VGN-Z91DS Battery

Since 1993, China has been a net importer of oil, a large portion of which comes from the Middle East. Imported oil accounts for 20% of the processed crude in China. Net imports are expected to rise to 3.5 million barrels (560,000 m3) per day by 2010. China is interested in diversifying the sources of its oil imports and has invested in oil fields around the world. Sony VAIO VGN-Z91JS Battery

China is developing oil imports fromCentral Asia and has invested in Kazakhstani oil fields. Beijing also plans to increase China's natural gas production, which currently accounts for only 3% of China's total energy consumption and incorporated a natural gas strategy in its 10th Five-Year Plan (2001–2005), Sony VAIO VGN-Z91PS Battery

with the goal of expanding gas use from a 2% share of total energy production to 4% by 2005 (gas accounts for 25% of U.S. energy production). Analysts expect China's consumption of natural gas to more than double by 2010.

The 11th Five-Year Program (2006–10), announced in 2005 and approved by the National People's Congress in March 2006, Sony VAIO VGN-Z91YS Battery

called for greater energy conservation measures, including development of renewable energy sources and increased attention to environmental protection. Guidelines called for a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010.Sony VAIO VGN-Z92DS Battery

Moving away from coal towards cleaner energy sources including oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear power is an important component of China's development program. Beijing also intends to continue to improve energy efficiency and promote the use of clean coal technology.Sony VAIO VGN-Z92JS Battery

China has abundant hydroelectric resources; the Three Gorges Dam, for example, will have a total capacity of 18 gigawatts when fully on-line (projected for 2009). In addition, the share of electricity generated by nuclear power is projected to grow from 1% in 2000 to 5% in 2030. Sony VAIO VGN-Z92PS Battery

China's renewable energy law, which went into effect in 2006, calls for 10% of its energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

In May 2004, then-Secretary of Energy in the United States Spencer Abraham signed a Memorandum of Understanding Sony VAIO VGN-Z92YS Battery

(MOU) with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that launched the U.S.–China Energy Policy Dialogue. The Dialogue strengthened energy-related interactions between China and the United States, the world's two largest energy consumers.Sony VAIO VGN-Z93FS Battery

The U.S.–China Energy Policy Dialogue has built upon the two countries' existing cooperative ventures in high energy nuclear physics, fossil energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy and energy information exchanges. Sony VAIO VGN-Z93GS Battery

The NDRC and the Department of Energy also exchange views and expertise on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies, and convenes an annual Oil and Gas Industry Forum with China.

Mining

Outdated mining and ore-processing technologies are being replaced with modern techniques, but China's rapid industrialization requires imports of minerals from abroad. Sony VAIO VGN-Z93HS Battery

In particular, iron ore imports from Australia and the United States have soared in the early 2000s as steel production rapidly outstripped domestic iron ore production. Also China has become increasingly active in several African countries to mine the reserves it requires for economic growth, particularly in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon.Sony VAIO VGN-Z93VS Battery

The major areas of production in 2004 were coal (nearly 2 billion tons), iron ore (310 million tons), crude petroleum (175 million tons), natural gas(41 million cubic meters), antimony ore (110,000 tons), tin concentrates (110,000 tons), nickel ore (64,000 tons), Sony A1258274A Battery

tungsten concentrates (67,000 tons), unrefined salt (37 million tons), vanadium (40,000 tons), and molybdenum ore (29,000 tons). In order of magnitude, produced minerals were bauxite,gypsum, barite, magnesite, talc and related minerals, manganese ore, fluorspar, and zinc.Sony VGP-BPL10 Battery

In addition, China produced 2,450 tons of silver and 215 tons of gold in 2004. The mining sector accounted for less than 0.9% of total employment in 2002 but produced about 5.3% of total industrial production.

Hydroelectric resources

China has an abundant potential for hydroelectric power production due to its considerable river network and mountainous terrain.Sony VGP-BPS10 Battery

Most of the total hydroelectric capacity is situated in the southwest of the country, where coal supplies are poor but demand for energy is rising swiftly. The potential in the northeast is fairly small, but it was there that the first hydroelectric stations were built—by the Japanese during its occupation of Manchuria.Sony VGP-BPS10/S Battery

Due to considerable seasonal fluctuations in rainfall, the flow of rivers tends to drop during the winter, forcing many power stations to operate at less than normal capacity, while in the summer, on the other hand, floods often interfere with generation.

Thirteen years in construction at a cost of $24 billion, the immense Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River was essentially completed in 2006 and will revolutionize electrification and flood control in the area.Sony VGP-BPS10A/B Battery

Coal

China is well endowed with mineral resources, the most important of which is coal. China's mineral resources include large reserves of coal and iron ore, plus adequate to abundant supplies of nearly all other industrial minerals.Sony VGP-BPS10B Battery

Although coal deposits are widely scattered (some coal is found in every province), most of the total is located in the northern part of the country. The province of Shanxi, in fact, is thought to contain about half of the total; other important coal-bearing provinces include Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, and Shandong.Sony VGP-BPS10A Battery

Apart from these northern provinces, significant quantities of coal are present in Sichuan, and there are some deposits of importance in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. A large part of the country's reserves consists of goodbituminous coal, but there are also large deposits of lignite. Sony VGP-BPS11 Battery

Anthracite is present in several places (especially Liaoning, Guizhou, and Henan), but overall it is not very significant.

To ensure a more even distribution of coal supplies and to reduce the strain on the less than adequate transportation network, the authorities pressed for the development of a large number of small, locally run mines throughout the country. Sony VGP-BPL11 Battery

This campaign was energetically pursued after the 1960s, with the result that thousands of small pits have been established, and they produce more than half the country's coal. This output, however, is typically expensive and is used for local consumption. Sony VGP-BPL12 Battery

It has also led to a less than stringent implementation of safety measures in these unregulated mines, which cause several thousands of deaths each year.

Coal makes up the bulk of China's energy consumption (70% in 2005), and China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world.Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery

As China's economy continues to grow, China's coal demand is projected to rise significantly. Although coal's share of China's overall energy consumption will decrease, coal consumption will continue to rise in absolute terms. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

China's continued and increasing reliance on coal as a power source has contributed significantly to putting China on the path to becoming the world's largest emitter of acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide and greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery

Oil and natural gas

China's onshore oil resources are mostly located in the Northeast and in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Shandong, and Henan provinces.Oil shale is found in a number of places, especially at Fushun in Liaoning, where the deposits overlie the coal reserves, as well as in Guangdong. Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery

Light oil of high quality has been found in the Pearl River estuary of the South China Sea, the Qaidam Basin in Qinghai, and theTarim Basin in Xinjiang. The country consumes most of its oil output but does export some crude oil and oil products. China has explored and developed oil deposits in the South and East China Seas, the Yellow Sea, the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Bohai Sea.Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery

The total extent of China's natural gas reserves is unknown, as relatively little exploration for natural gas has been done. Sichuan accounts for almost half of the known natural gas reserves and production. Most of the rest of China's natural gas is associated gas produced in the Northeast's major oil fields, especially Daqing oilfield. Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery

Other gas deposits have been found in the Qaidam Basin, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shanghai, andZhejiang, and offshore to the southwest of Hainan Island.

Metals and nonmetals

Iron ore reserves are found in most provinces, including Hainan. Gansu, Guizhou, southern Sichuan, and Guangdong provinces have rich deposits. Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery

The largest mined reserves are located north of the Yangtze River and supply neighboring iron and steel enterprises. With the exception of nickel, chromium, and cobalt, China is well supplied with ferroalloys and manganese. Reserves of tungsten are also known to be fairly large. Sony VGP-BPS13AS Battery

Copper resources are moderate, and high-quality ore is present only in a few deposits. Discoveries have been reported from Ningxia. Lead and zinc are available, and bauxite resources are thought to be plentiful. China's antimony reserves are the largest in the world. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery

Tin resources are plentiful, and there are fairly rich deposits of gold. China is the world's fifth largest producer of gold and in the early 21st century became an important producer and exporter of rare metals needed in high-technology industries. The rare earth reserves at the Bayan Obi mine in Inner Mongolia are thought to be the largest in any single location in the world.Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q Battery

China also produces a fairly wide range of nonmetallic minerals. One of the most important of these is salt, which is derived from coastal evaporation sites in Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong, and Liaoning, as well as from extensive salt fields in Sichuan, Ningxia, and the Qaidam Basin. Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery

There are important deposits of phosphate rock in a number of areas. Pyrites occur in several places; Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, and Shanxi have the most important deposits. China also has large resources of fluorite (fluorspar), gypsum, asbestos, and cement.Sony VGP-BPS13Q Battery

Industry and manufacturing

Industry and construction account for 46.8 % of China's GDP. In 2009 around 8% of the total manufacturing output in the world came from China itself and China ranked third worldwide in industrial output that year (first was EU and second US).Sony VGP-BPS13S Battery

Research by IHS Global Insight states that in 2010 China contributed to 19,8% of world's manufacturing output and became the largest manufacturer in the world that year, after the US had held that position for about 110 years.

Major industries include mining and ore processing; iron and steel; aluminium; coal; machinery; Sony VGP-BPL7 Battery

armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemical; fertilizers; food processing; automobilesand other transportation equipment including rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; consumer products including footwear, toys, and electronics; telecommunications and information technology. Sony VGP-BPS7 Battery

China has become a preferred destination for the relocation of global manufacturing facilities. Its strength as an export platform has contributed to incomes and employment in China. The state-owned sector still accounts for about 30% of GDP. Sony VGP-BPL8 Battery

In recent years, authorities have been giving greater attention to the management of state assets—both in the financial market as well as among state-owned-enterprises—and progress has been noteworthy.

Since the founding of the People's Republic, industrial development has been given considerable attention. Sony VGP-BPL8A Battery

Among the various industrial branches the machine-building and metallurgical industries have received the highest priority. These two areas alone now account for about 20–30 percent of the total gross value of industrial output. In these, as in most other areas of industry, Sony VGP-BPL8B Battery

however, innovationhas generally suffered at the hands of a system that has rewarded increases in gross output rather than improvements in variety, sophistication and quality. China, therefore, still imports significant quantities of specialized steels. Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery

Overall industrial output has grown at an average rate of more than 10 percent per year, having surpassed all other sectors in economic growth and degree ofmodernization.Some heavy industries and products deemed to be of national strategic importance remain state-owned, Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery

but an increasing proportion of lighter and consumer-oriented manufacturing firms are privately held or are private-state joint ventures.

The predominant focus of development in the chemical industry is to expand the output of chemical fertilizers, plastics, and synthetic fibers. Sony VGP-BPS8B Battery

The growth of this industry has placed China among the world's leading producers of nitrogenous fertilizers. In the consumer goods sector the main emphasis is on textiles and clothing, which also form an important part of China's exports.Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery

Textile manufacturing, a rapidly growing proportion of which consists of synthetics, account for about 10 percent of the gross industrial output and continues to be important, but less so than before. The industry tends to be scattered throughout the country, but there are a number of important textile centers, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Harbin.Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery

Major state industries are iron, steel, coal, machine building, light industrial products, armaments, and textiles. These industries completed a decade of reform (1979–1989) with little substantial management change. Prior to 1978, most output was produced by state-owned enterprises. Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery

As a result of the economic reforms that followed, there was a significant increase in production by enterprises sponsored by local governments, especially townships and villages, and, increasingly, by private entrepreneurs and foreign investors. The 1996 industrial census revealed that there were 7,342,000 industrial enterprises at the end of 1995;Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery

total employment in industrial enterprises was approximately 147 million. The 1999 industrial census revealed that there were 7,930,000 industrial enterprises at the end of 1999 (including small-scale town and village enterprises); total employment in state-owned industrial enterprises was about 24 million.Sony VGP-BPS9A Battery

The automobile industry has grown rapidly since 2000, as has the petrochemical industry. Machinery and electronic products became China's main exports. China is the world's leading manufacturer of chemical fertilizers, cement, andsteel. Sony VGP-BPS9A/B Battery

By 2002 the share in gross industrial output by state-owned and state-holding industries had decreased to 41%, and the state-owned companies themselves contributed only 16% of China's industrial output.

China's construction sector has grown substantially since the early 1980s. In the 21st century, investment in capital construction has experienced major annual increases. Sony VGP-BPS9A/S Battery

In 2001 investments increased 8.5% over the previous year. In 2002 there was a 16.4% increase, followed by a 30% increase in 2003. The manufacturing sector produced 44.1% of GDP in 2004 and accounted for 11.3% of total employment in 2002. Industry and construction produced 53.1% of China's GDP in 2005. Sony VGP-BPS9B Battery

Industry (including mining, manufacturing, construction, and power) contributed 52.9% of GDP in 2004 and occupied 22.5% of the workforce.

Energy production has increased rapidly, but it still falls considerably short of demand. This is partly due to artificial energy prices that have been held so low that industries have had few incentives to conserve. Sony VGP-BPX11 Battery

Coal provides about 75–80 percent of China's energy consumption. Petroleum production, which began growing rapidly from an extremely low base in the early 1960s, has basically remained at the same level since the late 1970s. Sony VGP-BPL18 Battery

There are large petroleum reserves in the inaccessible northwest and potentially significant offshore petroleum deposits, but about half of the country's oilproduction still comes from the major Daqing oilfield in the northeast. China has much, and partially undeveloped, hydroelectric power potential and natural gas reserves. Sony VGP-BPS18 Battery

The government has made plans to develop nuclear power plants in the coastal and western regions (see Nuclear power in China).

Overall, the distribution of industry remains very uneven, despite serious efforts from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s to build up industry in the interior at the cost of the major cities on the east coast.Sony VGP-BPL20 Battery

While percentage growth of industry in the interior provinces generally greatly exceeded that of the coastal areas, the far larger initial industrial base of the latter has meant that a few coastal regions have continued to dominate China's industrial economy. The establishment of special economic zones in coastal areas only heightened this disparity. Sony VGP-BPS20/B Battery

Shanghai by itself accounts for about 8–10 percent of China's gross value of industrial output, and the east coast accounts for about 60 percent of the national industrial output. The rate of industrialization increased and diversified after the early 1990s. Sony VGP-BPS20/S Battery

Notable were the development of aerospace, aircraft, and automobile manufacturing. In addition, China expanded rapidly into the production of pharmaceuticals, software,semiconductors, electronics, and precision equipment.

Steel industry

China is the largest producer of steel in the world and the steel industry has been rapidly increasing its steel production. Sony VGP-BPL21 Battery

Iron ore production kept pace with steel production in the early 1990s but was soon outpaced by imported iron ore and other metals in the early 2000s. Steel production, an estimated 140 million tons in 2000, was increased to 419 million tons in 2006. Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery

Much of the country's steel output comes from a large number of small-scale producing centers, one of the largest being Anshan in Liaoning.

China is the top exporter of steel in the world. Export volumes in 2008 were 59.23 million tons, a 5.5% fall over the previous year.The decline ends China's decade-old steel export growth.Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery

Automotive industry

By 2006 China had become the world's third largest automotive vehicle manufacturer (after US and Japan) and the second largest consumer (only after US). Automobile manufacturing has soared during the reform period. Sony VGP-BPS21A Battery

In 1975 only 139,800 automobiles were produced annually, but by 1985 production had reached 443,377, then jumped to nearly 1.1 million by 1992 and increased fairly evenly each year up until 2001, when it reached 2.3 million. In 2002 production rose to nearly 3.25 million and then jumped to 4.44 million in 2003,Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery

5.07 million in 2004, 5.71 million in 2005, 7.28 million in 2006, 8.88 million in 2007, 9.35 million in 2008 and 13.83 million in 2009. China has become the number-one automaker in the world in 2009. Domestic sales have kept pace with production. After respectable annual increases in the mid- and late 1990s, passenger car sales soared in the early 2000s. Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery

In 2006, a total of 7.22 million automobiles were sold, including 5.18 million units of passenger cars and2.04 million units of commercial vehicles.

As of 2010, China has become the world's largest automotive vehicle manufacturer as well as the largest consumer.Sony VGP-BPL22 Battery

China's automotive industry has been so successful that it began exporting car parts in 1999. China began to plan major moves into the automobile and components export business starting in 2005. A new Honda factory in Guangzhou was built in 2004 solely for the export market and was expected to ship 30,000 passenger vehicles to Europe in 2005.Sony VGP-BPS22 Battery

By 2004, 12 major foreign automotive manufacturers had joint-venture plants in China. They produced a wide range of automobiles, minivans, sport utility vehicles, buses, and trucks. In 2003 China exported US$4.7 billion worth of vehicles and components.Sony VGP-BPS22/A Battery

The vehicle export was 78,000 units in 2004, 173,000 units in 2005, and 340,000 units in 2006. The vehicle and component export is targeted to reach US$70 billion by 2010.

The market for domestically produced cars, under a local name, is likely to continue to grow both inside China and outside.Sony VGP-BPS22A Battery

Companies such as Geely and Chery are constantly evaluating new international locations, both in developing and developed countries.

Other industries

China is the world's biggest sex toy producer and accounts for 70% of the worldwide sex toys production.Sony VGP-BPL23 Battery

In the country, 1,000 manufacturers are active in this industry, which generates about two billion dollars a year.

As of 2011, China is the world's largest market for personal computers .

Services

China's services output ranks fifth worldwide, and high power and telecom density has ensured that it has remained on a high-growth trajectory in the long-term.Sony VGP-BPS23 Battery

In 2005 the services sector produced 40.3% of China's annual GDP, second only to manufacturing. However, its proportion of GDP is still low compared with the ratio in more developed countries, and the agricultural sector still employs a larger workforce. Sony VGP-BPS23/B Battery

Prior to the onset of economic reforms in 1978, China's services sector was characterized by state-operated shops, rationing, and regulated prices. With reform came private markets and individual entrepreneurs and a commercial sector. The wholesale and retail trade has expanded quickly, with urban areas now having many shopping malls, retail shops, restaurant chains and hotels. Sony VGP-BPS23/D Battery

Public administration has still remained a main component of the service sector, while tourism has become a significant factor in employment and as a source of foreign exchange. The potential for growing services in China through franchising is huge.Sony VGP-BPS23/G Battery

Tourism

China's tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the national economy and is also one of the industries with a very distinct global competitive edge. The total revenue of China's tourism industry reached USD 67.3 billion in 2002, accounting for 5.44% of the GDP. Sony VGP-BPS23/P Battery

It dropped, largely due to SARS, to USD 59 billion in 2003. Nevertheless, for areas rich in tourism resources, tourism has become the main source of tax revenue and the key industry for economic development.

The total number of inbound tourists was 91.66 million in 2003, and that of tourists staying overnight was 32.7 million, about 10 times of the number in 1980. Sony VGP-BPS23/W Battery

International tourism receipts were USD17.4 billion in 2003. China's ranking for both the overnight tourist arrivals and tourism receipts were among the world's top five in 2003. However, there is unlikely to be a big increase in the inbound tourism market.Sony Limited Edition 007 Battery

China's domestic tourism market makes up more than 90% of the country's tourism traffic, and contributes more than 70% of total tourism revenue. In 2002, domestic tourists reached 878 million and tourism revenue was USD 46.9 billion. Sony VAIO VGC-LB15 Battery

The five-days-per-week and long vacation schemes have increased leisure time for the Chinese people and spurred market demand in domestic tourism and led to its prosperity.

A large middle class population with strong consumption power is emerging in China, especially in major cities. Sony VGN-AR Series Battery

China's outbound tourists reached 20.22 million in 2003, overtaking Japan for the first time. Currently there are 65 countries/areas open to Chinese tour groups. Putting aside the threat of SARS and other unexpected events, based on the current economic growth situation and the social development of China, China's outbound tourism is poised to achieve a new growth peak.Sony VGN-CR Series Battery

Driven by the flourishing tourism industry, China's tourist hotel sector is expanding rapidly. At the end of 2003, China had a total of 10,093 tourist hotels and more than 820,000 rooms. 773 of these tourist hotels were foreign-funded. The number of foreign-funded (inclusive of Hong Kong, Sony VIAO VGN-G Series Battery

Macau and Taiwan investments) four- and five-star tourist hotels made up 26% and 30.02% of the national total, respectively.

In 2003, there were a total of 11,522 travel agencies in China, among which, 1,349 were international ones and 10,203 were domestic ones. Sony VIAO VGN-G118 Battery

While overall tourism market concentration rose, there was a drop in the market position of the traditional three key travel agencies. As competition heightened, China's tourism industry on the whole, had begun to start earning low profits, even while it was expanding its scale of operations.Sony VIAO VGN-G118CN/B Battery

Currently, there are approximately 15,000 natural, cultural and man-made places of attraction that are above county level. Presently, Hong Kong investors are the main participants in the establishment of tourist attractions in China. In 2001, Sichuan became the first province to propose renting out the operation rights of 10 scenic areas to foreign investors.Sony VIAO VGN-G118CN/T Battery

According to the plan by China National Tourism Administration, the number of inbound tourists, foreign exchange earnings from tourism and the domestic market size are targeted to have an annual growth of 4%, 8% and 8%, respectively, in the next five to ten years. Sony VIAO VGN-G218 Battery

It is also forecast by the WTO that China's tourism industry will take up to 8.6% of world market share to become the world's top tourism industry by 2020.

Labor and welfare

One of the hallmarks of China's socialist economy was its promise of employment to all able and willing to work and job-security with virtually lifelong tenure. Sony VGN-TZ121 Battery

Reformers targeted the labor market as unproductive because industries were frequently overstaffed to fulfill socialist goals and job-security reduced workers' incentive to work. This socialist policy was pejoratively called the iron rice bowl.

In 1979–1980, the state reformed factories by giving wage increases to workers, which was immediately offset by sharply rising inflation rates of 6–7%. Sony VGN-TZ13 Battery

The reforms also dismantled the iron rice bowl, which meant it witnessed a rise in unemployment in the economy. In 1979 there were 20 millionunemployed people. Official Chinese statistics reveal that 4.2% of the total urban workforce was unemployed in 2004, although other estimates have reached 10%.Sony VGN-TZ131 Battery

As part of its newly developing social security legislation, China has an unemployment insurance system. At the end of 2003, more than103.7 million people were participating in the plan, and 7.4 million laid-off employees had received benefits.Sony VGN-TZ132N Battery

A 10-percent sample tabulation of census questionnaires from the 1982 census provided needed statistical data on China's working population and allowed the first reliable estimates of the labor force's size and characteristics. The estimated mid-1982 labor force was 546 million, or approximately 54 percent of the total population. Sony VGN-TZ132/N Battery

Males accounted for slightly more than half of the estimated labor force, and the labor force participation rates for persons age fifteen years and older were among the highest in the world.

The 10-percent sample showed that approximately three-fourths of the labor force worked in the agricultural sector. Sony VGN-TZ17N Battery

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the mid-1980s more than 120 million people worked in the nonagricultural sector. The sample revealed that men occupied the great majority of leadership positions. The average worker was about thirty years old, and three out of every four workers were under forty-five years of age. Sony VGN-TZ16N Battery

The working population had a low education level. Less than 40 percent of the labor force had more than a primary school education, and 30 percent were illiterate or semiliterate.

In mid-1982 the overall unemployment rate was estimated to be about 5 percent. Of the approximately 25 million unemployed, 12 million were men and 13 million were women.Sony VGN-TZ18N Battery

The unemployment rate was highest in the northeast and lowest in the south. The unemployment rates were higher than those of East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific island countries for which data were available but were lower than the rates found in North America and Europe. Sony VAIO VGN-AR47G/E1 Battery

Virtually all of the unemployed persons in cities and towns were under twenty years of age.

By the 1990s and 2000s, agriculture has remained the largest employer, though its proportion of the workforce has steadily declined; between 1991 and 2001 it dropped from about 60% to 40% of the total. Sony VAIO VGN-AR520E Battery

The manufacturing labor force has also become smaller at a slower rate, partially because of reforms implemented at many of the state-run enterprises. Such reforms and other factors have increased unemployment and underemployment in both urban and rural areas. Sony VAIO VGN-AR53DB Battery

Women have been a major labor presence in China since the People's Republic was established. Some 40–45 percent of all women over age 15 are employed.

China's estimated employed labor force in 2005 totaled 791.4 million persons, about 60% of the total population. Sony VAIO VGN-AR54DB Battery

During 2003, 49% of the labor force worked in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; 22% inmining, manufacturing, energy, and construction industries; and 29% in the services sector and other categories. In 2004 some 25 million persons were employed by 743,000 private enterprises. Sony VAIO VGN-AR550E Battery

Urban wages rose rapidly from 2004 to 2007, at a rate of 13 to 19% per year with average wages near $200/month in 2007.

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) was established in 1925 to represent the interests of national and local trade unions and trade union councils. Sony VAIO VGN-AR55DB Battery

The ACFTU reported a membership of130 million, out of an estimated 248 million urban workers, at the end of 2002. Chinese trade unions are organized on a broad industrial basis. Membership is open to those who rely on wages for the whole or a large part of their income, a qualification that excludes most agricultural workers. Sony VAIO VGN-AR630E Battery

In theory, membership is not compulsory, but in view of the unions' role in the distribution of social benefits, the economic pressure to join is great. The lowest unit is the enterprise union committee. Individual trade unions also operate at the provincial level, Sony VAIO VGN-AR64DB Battery

and there are trade union councils that coordinate all union activities within a particular area and operate at county, municipal, and provincial levels. At the top of the movement is the ACFTU, which discharges its functions through a number of regional federations.Sony VAIO VGN-AR65DB Battery

In theory the appropriate trade union organizations have been consulted on the level of wages as well as on wage differentials, but in practice their role in these and similar matters has been insignificant. They have not engaged in collective bargaining, as their principal duties have included assisting the party and promoting production. Sony VAIO VGN-AR660U Battery

In fulfilling these tasks, they have had a role in enforcing labor discipline. From the point of view of the membership, the most important activities have concerned the social and welfare services. Thus, the unions have looked after industrial safety, organized social and cultural activities, and, provided services such as clinics, rest and holiday homes, hostels, libraries, and clubs.Sony VAIO VGN-AR690U Battery

They also administer old-age pensions, workers' insurance,disability benefits, and other welfare schemes. More recently, however, reforms of the social security system have involved moving the responsibility for pensions and other welfare to the provinces.Sony VAIO VGN-AR71ZU Battery

Chinese labor laws, if fully enforced, would greatly alleviate common abuses such as not paying workers. In 2006 and thereafter there was an organizing campaign orchestrated by the central government to organize Chinese operations of foreign companies. It was reported in 2008 that problems with sweatshops persist.Sony VAIO VGN-AR730E/B Battery

In 2010, the issues of manufacturing wages caused a strike at a Honda parts plant. This resulted in wage increases both at the struck plant and other industrial plants.

The 2010 census found that the PRC was now half urban and rapidly aging due to the one child policy. Sony VAIO VGN-AR73DB Battery

This is expected to lead to increased demand for labor to take care of an elderly population and a reduced supply of migrant labor from the countryside.

External trade

International trade makes up a sizeable portion of China's overall economy.Sony VAIO VGN-AR74DB Battery

The course of China's foreign trade has experienced considerable transformations since the early 1950s. In 1950 more than 70 percent of the total trade was with non-Communist countries, but by 1954, a year after the end of the Korean War, the situation was completely reversed, and trade with Communist countries stood at about 75 percent.Sony VAIO VGN-AR75UDB Battery

During the next few years, trade with the Communist world lost some of its standing, but it was only after the Sino-Soviet split of 1960, which resulted in the cancellation of Soviet credits and the withdrawal of Soviet technicians, that the non-Communist world began to see a speedy recovery in its position. Sony VAIO VGN-AR790U/B Battery

In 1965 China's trade with other socialist countries made up only about a third of the total.

Being a Second World country at the time, a meaningful segment of China's trade with the Third World was financed through grants, credits, and other forms of assistance. Sony VAIO VGN-AR820E Battery

At first, from 1953 to 1955, aid went mainly to North Korea and North Vietnam and some other Communist states; but from the mid-1950s large amounts, mainly grants and long-term, interest-free loans, were promised to politically uncommitted developing countries. Sony VAIO VGN-AR830E Battery

The principal efforts were made in Asia, especially to Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, and Ceylon, but large loans were also granted in Africa (Ghana, Algeria,Tanzania) and in the Middle East (Egypt). However, after Mao Zedong's death in 1976, these efforts were scaled back. Sony VAIO VGN-AR83S Battery

After which, trade with developing countries became negligible, though during that time, Hong Kong and Taiwan both began to emerge as major trading partners.

Since economic reforms began in the late 1970s, China sought to decentralize its foreign trade system to integrate itself into the international trading system. Sony VAIO VGN-AR83US Battery

On November 1991, China joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, which promotes free trade and cooperation the in economic, trade, investment, and technology spheres. China served as APEC chair in 2001, and Shanghai hosted the annual APEC leaders meeting in October of that year.Sony VAIO VGN-AR84S Battery

China's global trade totaled $324 billion in 1997 and $151 billion in the first half of 1998; the trade surplus stood at $40.0 billion. China's primary trading partners were Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., South Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, Russia, and the Netherlands.Sony VAIO VGN-AR84US Battery

China had a trade surplus with the U.S. of $49.7 billion in 1997 and $54.6 billion in 1998. Major imports were power generating equipment, aircraft and parts, computers and industrial machinery, raw materials, and chemical and agricultural products.Sony VAIO VGN-AR85S Battery

In 1998, China was in its 12th year of negotiations for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)—formerly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and had significantly reduced import tariffs. Previously in 1996, China had already introduced cuts to more than 4,000 tariff lines, reducing average tariffs from 35% to 23%; Sony VAIO VGN-AR85US Battery

further tariff cuts that took effect October 1, 1997, decreased average tariffs to 17%. To gain WTO entry, all prospective WTO members were required to comply with certain fundamental trading disciplines and offer substantially expanded market access to other members of the organization.Sony VAIO VGN-AR870EA Battery

Many major trading entities—among them the United States, the European Union, and Japan—shared concerns with respect to China's accession. These concerns included obtaining satisfactory market access offers for both goods and services, full trading rights for all potential Chinese consumers and end-users, Sony VAIO VGN-AR890U Battery

nondiscrimination between foreign and local commercial operations in China, the reduction of monopolistic state trading practices, and the elimination of arbitrary or non-scientific technical standards. China and other WTO members worked to achieve a commercially viable accession protocol.Sony VAIO VGN-AR93S Battery

In 1999, Premier Zhu Rongji signed a bilateral U.S.–China Agricultural Cooperation Agreement, which lifted longstanding Chinese prohibitions on imports of citrus, grain, beef, and poultry. In November 1999, the United States and China reached a historic bilateral market-access agreement to pave the way for China's accession to the WTO. Sony VAIO VGN-AR93US Battery

As part of the far-reaching trade liberalization agreement, China agreed to lower tariffs and abolish market impediments after it joins the world trading body. Chinese and foreign businessmen, for example, would gain the right to import and export on their own – and to sell their products without going through a government middleman.Sony VAIO VGN-AR94S Battery

After reaching a bilateral WTO agreement with the EU and other trading partners in summer 2000, China worked on a multilateral WTO accession package. China concluded multilateral negotiations on its accession to the WTO in September 2001. Sony VAIO VGN-AR94US Battery

The completion of its accession protocol and Working Party Report paved the way for its entry into the WTO on December 11, 2001, after 16 years of negotiations, the longest in the history of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

China's global trade exceeded $2.4 trillion at the end of 2008.Sony VAIO VGN-AR95S Battery

It first broke the $100 billion mark in 1988, $200 billion in 1994, $500 billion in 2001 and$1 trillion mark ($1.15 trillion) in 2004. The table below shows the average annual growth (in nominal US dollar terms) of China's foreign trade during the reform era.Sony VAIO VGN-AR95US Battery

The vast majority of China's imports consists of industrial supplies and capital goods, notably machinery and high-technology equipment, the majority of which comes from the developed countries, primarily Japan and the United States . Regionally, almost half of China's imports come from East and Southeast Asia, and about one-fourth of China's exports go to the same destinations .Sony VAIO VGN-AW110J/H Battery

About 80 percent of China's exports consist of manufactured goods, most of which are textiles and electronic equipment, with agricultural products and chemicals constituting the remainder. Out of the five busiest ports in the world, three are in China.Sony VAIO VGN-AW11M/H Battery

The U.S. is one of China's primary suppliers of semiconductors and electronic components, power-generating equipment, aircraft and parts, computers and industrial machinery, raw materials, waste and scrap, and chemical and agricultural products. However, Sony VAIO VGN-AW11S/B Battery

U.S. exporters continue to have concerns about fair market access due to China's restrictive trade policies and U.S. export restrictions . Intellectual property theft makes many foreign companies wary of doing business in mainland China. According to U.S. statistics, China had a trade surplus with the U.S. of $170 billion in 2004, more than doubling from 1999. Sony VAIO VGN-AW11XU/Q Battery

Wal-Mart, the United States' largest retailer, is China's 7th largest export partner, just ahead of the United Kingdom.

The U.S. trade deficit with China reached $232.5 billion in 2006, as imports grew 18%. China's share of total U.S. imports has grown from 7% to 15% since 1996.Sony VAIO VGN-AW11Z/B Battery

At the same time, the share of many other Asian countries' imports to the United States fell, from 39% in 1996 to 21.1% in 2005. The share of overall Asian imports (including China) to the United States actually declined from 38.8% in 1996 to 35.7% in 2005. The U.S. global trade deficit with the Asia–Pacific region as a whole also has fallen from 75% in 1995 to 49% in 2005.Sony VAIO VGN-AW120J/H Battery

Trade volume between China and Russia reached $29.1 billion in 2005, an increase of 37.1% compared with 2004. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, Van Jingsun, said that the volume of trade between China and Russia could exceed 40 billion dollars in 2007.Sony VAIO VGN-AW150Y/H Battery

China's export of machinery and electronic goods to Russia grew 70%, which is 24% of China's total export to Russia in the first 11 months of 2005. During the same time, China's export of high-tech products to Russia increased by 58%, and that is 7% of China's total exports to Russia.Sony VAIO VGN-AW160J/Q Battery

Also in this time period border trade between the two countries reached $5.13 billion, growing 35% and accounting for nearly 20% of the total trade. Most of China's exports to Russia remain apparel and footwear. Russia is China's eighth largest trade partner and China is now Russia's fourth largest trade partner, and China now has over 750 investment projects in Russia, involving $1.05 billion.Sony VAIO VGN-AW170Y/Q Battery

China's contracted investment in Russia totaled $368 million during January–September 2005, twice that in 2004.

Chinese imports from Russia are mainly those of energy sources, such as crude oil, which is mostly transported by rail, and electricity exports from neighboring Siberian and Far Eastern regions.Sony VAIO VGN-AW180Y/Q Battery

In the near future, exports of both of these commodities are set to increase, as Russia is building the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline with a branch to Chinese border, and Russian power grid monopoly UES is building some of its hydropower stations with a view of future exports to China.Sony VAIO VGN-AW190JAH Battery

Export growth has continued to be a major component supporting China's rapid economic growth. To increase exports, China pursued policies such as fostering the rapid development of foreign-invested factories, which assembled imported components into consumer goods for export and liberalizing trading rights. Sony VAIO VGN-AW190NAB Battery

In its 11th Five-Year Program, adopted in 2005, China placed greater emphasis on developing a consumer demand-driven economy to sustain economic growth and address imbalances.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) promotes China's international economic and commercial interests. Sony VAIO VGN-AW190NBB Battery

This is accomplished by developing business cooperation and exchanges with foreign countries. It also produces economic data, creates diplomatic ties and is active with trade arbitration issues. Hong Kong remains prominent in domestic trade, notably in its reliance on the mainland for agricultural products.Sony VAIO VGN-AW190NCB Battery

Foreign investment

China's investment climate has changed dramatically with more than two decades of reform. In the early 1980s, China restricted foreign investments to export-oriented operations and required foreign investors to form joint-venture partnerships with Chinese firms. Sony VAIO VGN-AW190YAB Battery

The Encouraged Industry Catalogue sets out the degree of foreign involvement allowed in various industry sectors. From the beginning of the reforms legalizing foreign investment, capital inflows expanded every year until 1999. Foreign-invested enterprises account for 58–60% of China's imports and exports.Sony VAIO VGN-AW190YBB Battery

Since the early 1990s, the government has allowed foreign investors to manufacture and sell a wide range of goods on the domestic market, eliminated time restrictions on the establishment of joint ventures, provided some assurances against nationalization, allowed foreign partners to become chairs of joint venture boards, Sony VAIO VGN-AW190YCB Battery

and authorized the establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises, now the preferred form of FDI. In 1991, China granted more preferential tax treatment for Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises and contractual ventures and for foreign companies, which invested in selected economic zones or in projects encouraged by the state, such as energy, communications and transportation.Sony VAIO VGN-AW190YDB Battery

China also authorized some foreign banks to open branches in Shanghai and allowed foreign investors to purchase special "B" shares of stock in selected companies listed on the Shanghai andShenzhen Securities Exchanges. These "B" shares sold to foreigners carried no ownership rights in a company. Sony VAIO VGN-AW220J/B Battery

In 1997, China approved 21,046 foreign investment projects and received over $45 billionin foreign direct investment. China revised significantly its laws on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises and China Foreign Equity Joint Ventures in 2000 and 2001, easing export performance and domestic content requirements.Sony VAIO VGN-AW230J/H Battery

Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's rapid expansion in world trade and has been an important factor in the growth of urban jobs. In 1998, foreign-invested enterprises produced about 40% of China's exports, and foreign exchange reserves totalled about $145 billion.Sony VAIO VGN-AW235J/B Battery

Foreign-invested enterprises today produce about half of China's exports (the majority of China's foreign investment come from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), and China continues to attract large investment inflows. However, the Chinese government's emphasis on guiding FDI into manufacturing has led to market saturation in some industries, Sony VAIO VGN-AW290JFQ Battery

while leaving China's services sectors underdeveloped. From 1993 to 2001, China was the world's second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment after the United States. China received $39 billion FDI in 1999 and $41 billion FDI in 2000. China is now one of the leading FDI recipients in the world, receiving almost $80 billion in 2005 according to World Bank statistics. Sony VAIO VGN-AW41JF Battery

In 2006, China received $69.47 billion in foreign direct investment.

Foreign exchange reserves totaled $155 billion in 1999 and $165 billion in 2000. Foreign exchange reserves exceeded $800 billion in 2005, more than doubling from 2003. Sony VAIO VGN-AW41JF/H Battery

Foreign exchange reserves were $819 billion at the end of 2005, $1.066 trillion at the end of 2006, $1.9 trillion by June 2008. In addition, by the end of September 2008 China replaced Japan for the first time as the largest foreign holder of US treasury securities with a total of $585 billion, vs Japan $573 billion.Sony VAIO VGN-AW41MF Battery

China has now surpassed those of Japan, making China's foreign exchange reserves the largest in the world.

As part of its WTO accession, China undertook to eliminate certain trade-related investment measures and to open up specified sectors that had previously been closed to foreign investment. Sony VAIO VGN-AW41MF/H Battery

New laws, regulations, and administrative measures to implement these commitments are being issued. Major remaining barriers to foreign investment include opaque and inconsistently enforced laws and regulations and the lack of a rules-based legal infrastructure. Sony VAIO VGN-AW41XH Battery

Warner Bros., for instance, withdrew its cinema business in China as a result of a regulation that requires Chinese investors to own at least a 51 percent stake or play a leading role in a foreign joint venture.

Chinese investment abroad

Outward foreign direct investment is a new feature of Chinese globalization, where local Chinese firms seek to make investments in both developing and developed countries.Sony VAIO VGN-AW41XH/Q Battery

It was reported in 2011 that there was increasing investment by capital rich Chinese firms in promising firms in the United States. Such investments offer access to expertise in marketing and distribution potentially useful in exploiting the developing Chinese domestic market.Sony VAIO VGN-AW41ZF Battery

Demographics

Since the 1950s medical care, public hygiene and sanitation improved considerably, and epidemics were controlled. Consecutive generations continuously experienced better health. The population growth rate surged as the mortality rate dropped more rapidly than the birth rate.Sony VAIO VGN-AW41ZF/B Battery

China's massive population has always been a major difficulty for the government as it has struggled to provide for it. In the 1950s, food supply was inadequate and the standard of living was generally low. This spurred the authorities to initiate a major birth control program. Sony VAIO VGN-AW50DB/H Battery

The Great Leap Forward industrial plan in 1958–60 was partially responsible for a huge famine that caused the death rate to surpass the birth rate, and by 1960, the overall population was declining. A second population control drive began in 1962 with major efforts focused on promoting late marriages and the use of contraceptives.Sony VAIO VGN-AW51JGB Battery

By 1963 the country was in the beginning of recovery from the famine and the birth rate soared to its highest since 1949 with an annual population growth rate of 3%. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution suspended this second family planning program, but resumed four years later with the third attempt by making later marriage and family size limitation an obligation. Sony VAIO VGN-AW52JGB Battery

Since 1970, the efforts have been much more effective. The third family planning program continued until 1979 when the one child per family policy was implemented. By the early 1980s, China's population reached around 1 billion and by the early 2000s, surpassed 1.3 billion. Sony VAIO VGN-AW53FB Battery

In the 1980s, the average overall population growth was around 1.5%. In the 1990s, this fell to about 1%. Today it is about 0.6%.[139]China's population growth rate is now among the lowest for a developing country, although, due to its large population, annual net population growth is still considerable.Sony VAIO VGN-AW70B/Q Battery

One demographic consequence of the one-child policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly ageing countries in the world.

From 100 million to 150 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs.Sony VAIO VGN-AW71JB Battery

According to the latest Forbes China Rich List (2007), China had 66 billionaires, the second largest number after the United States, which had 415. In the 2006 Forbes Rich List it stated that there were 15 Chinese billionaires.[140] In the latest 2007 Hurun Report, it lists 106 billionaires in China.Sony VAIO VGN-AW72JB Battery

Transportation and Infrastructure

Development of the country's transportation infrastructure is given a high priority because it is so strategically tied to the national economy and national defense.Sony VAIO VGN-AW73FB Battery

Regardless, the transportation infrastructure is still not fully developed in many aspects and areas, and it constitutes a major hindrance on economic growth and the efficient logistical movement of goods and people. China's transportation policy, influenced by political, military, and economic concerns, have undergone major changes since 1949.Sony VAIO VGN-AW80NS Battery

Immediately after the People's Republic was founded, the primary goal was to repair existing transportation infrastructure in order to meet military transport and logistics needs as well as to strengthen territorial integrity. During most of the 1950s, new road and rail links were built, while at the same time old ones were improved. Sony VAIO VGN-AW80S Battery

During the 1960s much of the improvement of regional transportation became the responsibility of the local governments, and many small railways were constructed. Emphasis was also placed on developing transportation in remote rural, mountainous, and forested areas, in order to integrate poorer regions of the country and to help promote economies of scale in the agricultural sector.Sony VAIO VGN-AW80US Battery

Before the reform era began in the late 1970s, China's transportation links were mostly concentrated in the coastal areas and access to the inner regions was generally poor. This situation has been improved considerably since then, as railways and highways have been built in the remote and frontier regions of the northwest and southwest. Sony VAIO VGN-AW81DS Battery

At the same time, the development of international transportation was also pursued, and the scope of ocean shipping was broadened considerably.

Freight haulage is mainly provided by rail transport. The rail sector is monopolized by China Railways, which is controlled by the Ministry of Railways and there is wide variation in services provided.Sony VAIO VGN-AW81JS Battery

In late 2007 China became one of the few countries in the world to launch its own indigenously developed high-speed train. As rail capacity is struggling to meet demand for the transport of goods and raw materials such as coal, air routes, roads and waterways are rapidly being developed to provide an increasing proportion of China's overall transportation needs. Sony VAIO VGN-AW81YS Battery

Some economic experts have argued that the development gap between China and other emerging economies such as Brazil, Argentina and India can be attributed to a large extent to China's early focus on ambitious infrastructure projects:Sony VAIO VGN-AW82DS Battery

while China invested roughly 9% of its GDP on infrastructure in the 1990s and 2000s, most emerging economies invested only 2% to 5% of their GDP. This considerable spending gap allowed the Chinese economy to grow at near optimal conditions while many South American economies suffered from various development bottlenecks (poor transportation networks, aging power grids, mediocre schools…).Sony VAIO VGN-AW82JS Battery

Communications

China possesses a diversified communications system that links all parts of the country by Internet, telephone, telegraph, radio, and television.

China's number of Internet users or netizens topped 137 million by the end of 2006, an increase of 23.4% from a year before and 162 million by June 2007,Sony VAIO VGN-AW82YS Battery

making China the second largest Internet user after the United States, according to China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII). China's mobile phone penetration rate is 34% in 2007. In 2006, mobile phone users sent 429 billion text messages, or on average 967 text messages per user. For 2006, the number of fixed-lines grew by 79%, mainly in the rural areas.Sony VAIO VGN-AW83FS Battery

Science and technology

Science and technology have always preoccupied China's leaders and indeed, China's political leadership comes almost exclusively from technical backgrounds and has a high regard for science. Deng Xiaoping called it "the first productive force."Sony VAIO VGN-AW83GS Battery

In recent times, with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao and their predecessors Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji all being trained engineers, China's leaders have been described as technocrats.

Since the early 1980s scientific and technological modernization has been given an especially high priority. Sony VAIO VGN-AW83HS Battery

Plans were made to rebuild the educational structure, continue sending students abroad, negotiate technological purchases and transfer arrangements with the U.S. and others, and develop ways to disseminate scientific and technological information. Sony VAIO VGN-AW90NS Battery

Areas of most critical interest have included microelectronics, telecommunications, computers, automated manufacturing, and energy. China also has had a space program since the 1960s and, by the late 1990s, had successfully launched more than 25 satellites.Sony VAIO VGN-AW90S Battery

On the other hand, distortions in the economy and society created by party rule have severely hurt Chinese science, according to some Chinese science policy experts. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, modeled on the Soviet system, puts much of China's greatest scientific talent in a large,Sony VAIO VGN-AW90US Battery

under-funded apparatus that remains largely isolated from industry, although the reforms of the past decade have begun to address this problem.

Chinese science strategists have seen China's greatest opportunities in newly emerging fields such as biotechnology and computers where there is still a chance for China to become a significant player. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CDS Battery

A majority of Chinese students who went abroad have not returned, but they have built a dense network of global contacts that have greatly facilitated international scientific cooperation.The United States is often held up as the standard of scientific modernity in China.Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CJS Battery

Indeed, photos of the Space Shuttle often appear in Chinese advertisements as a symbol of advanced technology. China's growing space program, which has put a man in space and successfully completed their second manned orbit in October 2005, is a focus of national pride.Sony VAIO VGN-AW91CYS Battery

At the end of 1996, China had 5,434 state-owned independent research and development institutions at and above the county level. There were another 3,400 research institutions affiliated with universities, 13,744 affiliated with medium and large industrial enterprises, and 726 affiliated with medium and large construction enterprises. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91DS Battery

A total of 2.8 million people were engaged in scientific and technological activities in these institutions.

The U.S.–China Science and Technology Agreement remains the framework for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in this field. It was originally signed in 1979. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91JS Battery

A five-year agreement to extend and amend the accord, including provisions for the protection of intellectual property rights, was signed in May 1991, and the Agreement was again extended for five years in April 1996. Five-year agreements to extend the accord were signed in April 2001 and April 2006. Sony VAIO VGN-AW91YS Battery

The Agreement is among the longest-standing U.S.–China accords, and includes over eleven U.S. Federal agencies and numerous branches that participate in cooperative exchanges under the S&T Agreement and its nearly 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements and annexes. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CDS Battery

The Agreement covers cooperation in areas such as marine conservation, high-energy physics, renewable energy, and health. Biennial Joint Commission Meetings on Science and Technology bring together policymakers from both sides to coordinate joint science and technology cooperation. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CJS Battery

Executive Secretaries meetings are held biennially to implement specific cooperation programs.

Japan and the European Union also have high profile science and technology cooperative relationships with China.Sony VAIO VGN-AW92CYS Battery

Noopolitik and the Knowledge Economy

Unlike South Korea the People's Republic does not have a full Ministry of Knowledge Economy as of 2011. Yet China has in ancient times maintained a premiership in world innovation, as evidenced by the manifold inventions it contributed throughout the world history. Sony VAIO VGN-AW92DS Battery

Notably taking note of the PRC's implementation of German Maglev train technology (transrapid) along with its clear interest inarcologies and Solar powered planes while infrastructure, energy and transportation are known to have remained the PRC's main economic bottlenecks throughout the 2000s.Sony VAIO VGN-AW92JS Battery

China is rapidly implementing acquired technology for 600MW - 1000MW coal fired and 800MW - 1600MW nuclear fired power plant. Idriss Aberkane (2011) has argued "it may not be more than a decade before the Euro-Atlantic community manufactures and copies Chinese products, architecture, and systems". Sony VAIO VGN-AW92YS Battery

Until now, however, this postulate has to be seen as a very optimistic assumption as China is still more or less a "production site" for foreign enterprises and their technology (but also for illegal copies of those). Aberkane also underlined that while the PRC stood as the first nation in ability to provide popular material satisfaction,Sony VAIO VGN-AW93FS Battery

its doctrine of addressing all domestic issues through the lens of growth (which he calls a "growth panacea doctrine") was naturally continued by its interest in Noopolitik, a "knowledge panacea doctrine".

Furthermore, in an essay explicitly entitled "China's Innovation Wall" Adam Segal reported that the PRC's policy had clearly moved from "Made in China" to "Innovated in China". Sony VAIO VGN-AW93GS Battery

Zbigniew Brzezinski had himself taken note of the PRC's emulating the original American "Revolution in Military Affairs" along which the term "Noopolitik" appeared in the essay of John Arquilla.

In 2004, Brzezinski underlined that the success of the American Revolution in Military Affairs (...) “has spurred China to pursue its own “RMA with Chinese characteristics“ – described as “people’s war under high-tech conditions.”Sony VAIO VGN-AW93HS Battery

The notion of non linear R&D competition is made very clear in the title of a study by Kung Shuang-Yin “Achieving development by Leaps and Bounds in national Defense” [156] (translated). In January 2011 the Washington Post also quoted a “Chinese analyst” (sic): “instead of competing to build ships and tanks, (…) China will focus on the weapons that can cripple them.” Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZFS Battery

The development of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force fifth generation stealth aircraft, Chengdu J-20, already considered superior to the USAF F-22 Raptor, and the implementation of the costly Shenzhou space programs testify to the PRC’s adoption of non-linear R&D. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZGS Battery

It is probably China’s wish to struggle for preeminence in the Pacific, and its investment in cheap air freight best demonstrates its interest in surpassing linear competition. -- Idriss J. Aberkane

Luxury goods

A factor that often goes overlooked is the extent of luxury spending the Chinese citizenry are undertaking. Sony VAIO VGN-AW93ZHS Battery

There is no greater indication of the newfound wealth of the Chinese than the amount of money now spent on goods and services that were once inaccessible. Foremost among these is the shift towards bottled water. The Chinese bottled water manufacturing industry is forecast to more than double in size in 2008, becoming a $10.5 (US dollars) billion industry in the process.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11EN Battery

Meanwhile, as those who once had no recourse but poor-quality tap water take advantage of its availability in supermarkets, those who had little or no running water are now capitalising on its availability. The tap water production and supply industry is expected to grow by 29.3% in 2008, to $11.9 billion. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11MN Battery

The country's motor vehicle production industry is expected to expand by 29.5% to nearly $200 billion, as many Chinese eschew traditional modes of transport, such as bicycles, for the comforts of modern cars. Also, consumption of chocolate and other confectionery is set to increase by 24.3%, Sony VAIO VGN-BZ11XN Battery

as the industry expands to $4.6 billion, in order to keep up with China's collective sweet tooth. Couple with this is 20.8% growth in China's fast food industry, as major players such as McDonald's enter the country with vigour. Also, the LVMH Group, who own major luxury brands including Louis Vuittonapparel,Sony VAIO VGN-BZ12VN Battery

Moët & Chandon wines and champagne and Hennessy cognacs, reported earnings growth of over 25% in 2007 in China, the region now accounting for around 16% of their global business.

Environment and public health

One of the serious negative consequences of China's rapid industrial development since the 1980s has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ12XN Battery

Problems such as soil erosion,desertification and the steady fall of the water table, especially in the north, have posed a threat to the sustainable development of the country. China is an active participant in climate change talks and other multilateral environmental negotiations in organization such as the UN Environment Program (UNEP).Sony VAIO VGN-BZ31VT Battery

Mergers and acquisitions

From 1993 to 2010, Chinese companies have been involved as either an acquiror or acquired company in 25,284 mergers and acquisitions with a total known value of US$969 billion. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ31XT Battery

The number and value of deals hit a new record in 2010. The number of deals that happened in 2010 has been 3,640 which is an increase of 17% compared to 2009. The value of deals in 2010 was US$196 billion which is an increase of 25% compared to the year before.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560 Battery

The Center for China in the World Economy (CCWE) is an international political economic policy research center and think tank located in the School of Economics and Management (SEM) atTsinghua University, Beijing, China.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560N24 Battery

The Center was founded in September 2004 and formally launched in October 2005 under the notion that "improving understanding of China's evolving prominence in the world will be of key importance both in China itself and abroad for many years to come". CCWE's founding partner is BP-China.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560N30 Battery

The center serves in a unique capacity as a liaison between both West and East, private and public. More specifically, the center is able to interface with both China's burgeoning market economy and its public policy makers in order to disseminate strategic policy and accurately forecast the developing role and identity of the Chinese state in the global economy. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P Battery

Moreover, its leadership is composed of academics with experience and expertise gained and formed in both the world's leading institutions. Operating in China's top university, the center hopes to increase its role as an elite source of information concerning China's development and growth in the 21st century.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P20 Battery

History

The seminal period for the center occurred from October 2003 to July 2004 when "over one hundred of the world's leading economic experts" were consulted regarding establishment. Following positive feedback, recruiting of research and administrative staff began.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P22 Battery

In September 2004, Tsinghua University formally approved the founding of the center. In February 2005, the center's executive committee was formed, holding its first meeting on 3 March of that year. In October 2005, the CCWE advisory board held its first meeting immediately preceding the first publication of the center's journal, China and World Affairs.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P28 Battery

In late October, the Center's new office location within the School of Economics and Management (SEM) became ready for use, and the formal launch of the center with its founding partner BP-China was held on October 31, 2005.

Activities

The CCWE is primarily focuses on in-depth research on China's economic development and reform. Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P30 Battery

Research interests include comparative institutional, macroeconomic, and political economic strategy policy understandings, forecasts, and recommendations. Such research is promulgated via the Center's quarterly journal, working papers, and monthly bulletin publications.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ560P34 Battery

Further involvement in the international academic community include the hosting of the China in the World Economy Public Lecture Series, Policy Briefing Sessions (PBS), Roundtables, the China Policy Update, international conferences, and various workshops. CCWE has also participated in IMF and World Bank forums and conferences.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561 Battery

Recent conferences hosted by the CCWE have centered on topics such as the Sichuan Earthquake and the Global Financial Crisis.

China and World Affairs

The main activity of the center concerns the quarterly publication of the academic journal, China and World Affairs, which was first published in October 2005.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561N20 Battery

Edited and published within the CCWE by a team of professors, graduate students, editors, and staff; China and World Affairs is a policy journal primarily concerned with disseminating and proposing strategic policy as regards China's emergence onto the global stage since economic reform began in the late 1970s.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ561P20 Battery

The journal is composed of both Chinese and English articles. Hence, the center has both Chinese and English editing teams and submission procedures for both types of articles. Since its inception, the journal has expanded both the size of its publication as well as the amount of English articles included.Sony VAIO VGN-BZ562P Battery

Since the autumn of 2008, each journal edition focuses on approximately four key issues under which included articles are organized under. Articles are published by a host of academics mainly from within China and from universities including Tsinghua University,Sony VAIO VGN-BZ563P Battery

Peking University, Fudan University, University of Hong Kong, Nankai University, Renmin University, and many other key universities located in Beijing and elsewhere. Published articles also include those written by military personnel and government officials.Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAFS Battery

Structure

Professor David Daokui Li is currently a Mansfield Freeman Chair Professor Economic and the Director of the Center for China in the World Economy. He is also the directory of the Tsinghua SEM Finance department.

Professor Li holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University. Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAHS Battery

Prior to taking up post in his Alma mater, Dr. Li held positions at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Stanford's Hoover Institution, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research areas include economic development, the Chinese economy, applied economic theory, corporate finance, and international economics.Sony VAIO VGN-BZAANS Battery

His research on the Chinese economy covers China's state enterprise reform, property rights arrangements of non-state enterprises, reform of government agencies, and China's banking sector reform. Professor Li is also an honorary professor at both Sichuan and Nankai Universities.Sony VAIO VGN-BZAAPS Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-CR11H/B Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-CR11S/L Battery

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