ABSTRACT
In 1995 China's gross domestic product (GDP) was US$744.8 billion, seventh in the world. In terms of volume of national production, China is among the top seven countries in the world, but considering its huge population, the volume is rather small. What has riveted the attention of the world is not the size of China's economy but its growth rate. In terms of purchasing power parity, China's GDP in 1995 was 3,504 billion international dollars, second after the United States and ahead of Japan. The average annual growth rate during the fifteen years from 1981 to 1995 was a lofty 10.2 percent. By virtue of this growth the structure of Chinese economy underwent huge change. In 1980 primary industry occupied thirty percent of GDP; by 1995 this had declined to twenty percent. By 2030 China becomes a "middle-income country", and by 2050 it reaches "the middle ranks" of high-income countries.
