FREE ESSAY ON CHINA A HIGH PERFORMING ECONOMY

CHINA A HIGH PERFORMING ECONOMY

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China: A High Performing economy
Boston University
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Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present China as a nation that has gone through several
economic phases until it reach a point that has made several consider this country as a
promising future power in the region. 
While Japan is falling into recession and much of Europe mired in one, greater China has
the fastest-growing regional economy in the world. Growth rates in greater China look
fantastic by U.S., European or Japanese standards. China today offers a new look and its
transformation into a high performing economy is affecting its population. Some think
that the reforms are painful but necessary. Private sector Chinese leaders hope to
increase the pool of middle class. The purging of most of socialism's last vestiges will
throw many into a desperate search for work and shelter. The income gap between those
with the skills and those without will widen. In spite of it all, China's economy is
thriving and many are determined to seize the opportunity.
Introduction
Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the economy from a
sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but
still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the
authorities switched to a system of household 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 enterprise in services and light
manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The
result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978 (CIA, 1998).
Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains,
especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment
helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership
has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy,
lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation).
Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In
1992-97 annual growth of GDP accelerated, particularly in the coastal areas-averaging
about 10% annually according to official figures (CIA, 1998). This purpose will analyze
the efforts of China's government to restore its economy to a more performing one in
spite of many challenges. 
China's Economy: An Overview
Over the past 10 years, China's GDP has grown at an average annual rate of nearly 10%.
Some economists have speculated that China could become the world's largest economy at
some point in the near future. However, future economic growth will likely depend on the
ability of the Chinese government to make significant new reforms. Chinese officials have
recently announced major new initiatives to reform money-losing state-owned enterprises
and China's banking system. It remains to be seen whether such reforms will be
implemented on a wholesale or piecemeal level (Yifu, 1998). 
China's emergence as a global economic and trade power has created economic opportunities
for China's trading partners, but has presented several challenges as well. On the one
hand, China's economic growth has made it an increasingly important trading partner for
many nations. On the other hand, China's trade barriers, failure to adopt most
multilateral rules on international trade, and the relative absence of the rule of law
for business activities have often proved to be major barriers for doing business in
China and have been the cause of growing tensions with various trading partners,
especially the United States (Yifu, 1998). 
Currently, China