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Shanghai FTZ: A Symbol of China’s Opening-up

Forty years ago, it was inconceivable that China could completely transform itself from agrarian-based to the world’s second largest economy in such a short period of time. However, it has drastically transformed through its commitment to continuous reforms and gradual opening up policies. In the last 40 years, China has witnessed the fastest economic growth in human history. Its average annual GDP growth was close to an impressive 10 percent year-on-year until 2014. Per-capita income increased from US$155 in 1978 to a whopping US$7,590 in 2014: a 40-fold increase, that helped lift 700 million people above the poverty line.   This economic transformation begun in 1978, when China’s former Leader, Deng Xiaoping realized that the economic progress of the country could be accelerated by opening up the economy and following the export-led model. In order to realize this dream, he had set up several special economic zones across China. These zones not just attracted overseas investments but also facilitated the adoption of new technologies and management ideas, thus transforming them into export hubs. This watershed policy of inclusive growth and opening-up proved to be a game-changer for the nation. In order to further deepen Deng’s original reforms, Shanghai’s first pilot free trade zone was set up in September 2013 to bring new opportunities to the country. The Shanghai FTZ, since […]

CHINA.ORG.CN Economy Dec 10, 2018

Opening Up a Chinese Miracle

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up. Just as Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in the report delivered at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Chinese people today are closer, more confident, and more capable than ever before of making national rejuvenation a reality. The major reasoning for President Xi’s statement is China’s achievements over the past 40 years. In 1978, China’s per capita GDP stood at only US$155, and more than 80 percent of its population lived in rural areas. At that time, China’s imports and exports accounted for only 9.7 percent of the country’s total GDP. Essentially, 90 percent of the country’s GDP was not related to the international economy. However, over the 40 years since China’s historic reform and opening up, the country’s GDP has averaged an annual growth rate of around 9.5 percent in comparable prices. In human history, never has a country with such a huge population and weak foundation been able to realize such a high-speed and long-term growth. It is more than appropriate to call China’s progress over the last 40 years a “China miracle.” In the 1980s and 1990s, almost all developing countries, socialist countries included, carried out reform and opening up. However, instead of prosperity, these reforms caused economic collapse, […]

CHINA PICTORIAL Economy Dec 10, 2018