Economy

Is China's economy really unmatched in world?

By Huang Qing (People's Daily Online)
Updated: 2010-06-18 09:13

For much of the past decade, there has been "a notion that China's economy is increasingly unmatched, not only overseas but also within China. This notion first surged during the Asia financial crisis in the late 20th century, when China met stark challenges calmly and helped to tide over them with a very responsive and prudent attitude.

Since the start of the 21st century, China has scored a high-growth economy, as developed nations recorded fairly-low economic growth rates. When the global financial crisis plunged developed nations into a negative growth, Chinese economy experienced a GDP growth of around 8 percent in 2009 and, in the first quarter in 2010, it recorded a double-digit growth and so more people say that China's economy is getting increasingly unmatched on track.

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The notion of referring to China's economy as unmatched or unparalleled is inaccurate however, and the four main reasons are as follows: First, China is not the sole nation to sustain a fast economic growth; India and other developing economies are also growing rapidly, too. New features or hallmarks in the newly-emerging nations pose new images and domains of global economy. So, China does not intend to complete its mastery to attain an unusual, overall excellence, since this does not conform to reality.

Second, the economic "super-performance" should be viewed by a growth in GDP alone but be cited as an economic activity value ratio as a whole. So, the statistical inference has rather great limitations if the value of economic activity is definitely confined.

Other factors also indicate immensely a nation's economic performances. For instance, people should see if the economic structure of a given nation is rational, if a hidden intrinsic impetus is adequate, if its economy and social development are developed in balance and if the mode of growth is sustainable. China's contemporary economy right now is quite tenuous with so many problems in these spheres, and is currently facing an arduous task in the reform and development.

Third, there has also been a psychological factor for people to invoke such a notion for the people may be imbued with self-content and be led astray. In reality, China still retains its status of a developing country with uneven economical development. It is now time for the people of China to get down to business rather than bragging or making up truth themselves.

Finally, China's economic growth should be seen from a perspective of world economy and economic globalization. At present, China has a sizeable proportion of foreign invested enterprises, which produce about half of the country's exports. Can these multinational firms be regarded for China's own development or be viewed for the development of the source of foreign direct investment (FDI). Perhaps it should be taken as the development of both. The boom of China's economy is the economic outcome to be shared with the rest of world instead of the outcome being taken solely by China itself.

China has made great strides in its economic growth, which has evolved more comments worldwide and particularly in those Western developed nations. At one extreme, some media comments are rumbling that Chinese economy is heading for a "collapse" and, at other extreme, some other comments say "China is surging at an unmatched pace with more than 10 percent growth forecast for 2010."

At present, the contemporary world economy is experiencing an in-depth structural change, and China's rapid economic growth is definitely part of this global change. In the face of global financial crisis, people in varied countries think differently, act differently and can also have different mindset conditions, and some media even distort issues to exacerbate viewpoints in term of economic development in China.

As far as people in China are concerned, they should be prudent with a usual mindset, see the way ahead for their country and get things done in a down-to-earth manner. Hence, they should have "the wisdom of knowing their own limitations" and "strive unceasingly to be stronger," and this is how things on earth have always been.