CHINA A SUCCESS STORY.

China is the most populous country in the world and is our neighbor. Our countries had contact since thousands of years. It is interesting to know some facts about China.

After the victory in the Chinese Civil War, the communist party of China led by Mao Zedong gained control of most of China. On 1st October 1949, they established the “People’s Republic of China” as a Socialist State headed by the Communist Party.

Till the time of India China war in 1962, both India and China were at the same level of economic development.

After the death of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiao Ping emerged as the most important leader in 1978. He started a series of political and economic reforms that led to China's rapid economic development starting in the 1990s.

Post-1978 reforms in China have led to some relaxation of control over many areas of society. However, the government still has almost absolute control over politics, and it continually seeks to eradicate what it perceives as threats to the social, political and economic stability of the country. Examples include the jailing of political opponents and journalists, regulation of the press, regulation of religion, and also suppression of independence movements.

In 1989, the student protests at Tiananmen Square were brutally put to an end by the Chinese military after 15 days of martial law.

In 1997, Hong Kong was ceded to the PRC by the United Kingdom, and in 1999, Macau was handed over by Portugal.

Chinas economy is the 2nd largest in the world after the USA. It has been growing at an average rate of 10% over the last 30 years.

China is the largest exporter of gods in the world and the second largest importer.

In the year 2011 China has crossed the USA and became the number one country in the world in terms of industrial output. This is a significant development that has to be taken note of.

Some economic data on China is given below and is compared with that of India:

                                                          CHINA            INDIA

GDP 2010 USD trillion                     5.750             1.430

PER CAPITA USD                            4,283              1,176

                                                   CHINA                                              INDIA

                            GDP BY SEC %   EMP BY SEC%   GDP BY SEC%  EMP BY SEC%

AGRICULTURE       9.60                       39.50                        19.70                    55

INDUSTRY             46.80                      27.20                        26.20                    18

SERVICES              43.60                      33.20                        54.10                    27

The role of China in the world’s economy was minimal in 1980. But due to the economic reforms initiated then it grew rapidly and is today one of the largest economies in the world.

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.

China ranks first worldwide in farm output.Yields are high because of intensive cultivation, for example, China's cropland area is only 75% of the U.S. total, but China still produces about 30% more crops and livestock than the United States.

Animal husbandry constitutes the second most important component of agricultural production. China is the world's leading producer of pigs, chickens, and eggs, and it also has sizable herds of sheep and cattle.

With bilateral trade exceeding US$38.6 billion, China is India's largest trading partner.

The U.S. trade deficit with China reached $232.5 billion in 2006.

China's foreign exchange reserves are the largest in the world.

China calls itself a communist country but follows all capitalist policies. The only communist sign is the supremacy of the communist party in governance. Although the public sector is very strong, the private sector also accounts for some 25% industrial production.

I remember reading one article by an Indian businessman which has appeared in Hindu a long time ago. He went to China for setting up a factory ( I do not recollect for what product).  After completion of construction he had to take a power connection, water connection and a pollution control certificate. He stunningly narrated that all that was required was to call all the three departments on telephone. They have then visited his factory and the work was done in one day. No bribes were paid. The businessman was so impressed by what happened that he wrote an article in the Hindu on what happened in China. With that sort of system little wonder China is developing so fast. 

Nevertheless China has its own problems. The available energy would not be able to run its full industrial capacity. The transport system also has certain bottlenecks in terms of goods transportation. There is also corruption in the country but not to the extent in India. For this they have the death penalty.

Despite its problems the growth of China had been a success story in the world. Other countries should analyze the reasons for the Chinese growth and adopt the Chinese techniques provided they are suitable to their systems of governance.