ABSTRACT
China’s growth rate (GDP at constant prices) has been impressive in recent years, averaging close to 11 per cent annually between 1991 and 1999 and reducing only slightly to 10 per cent between 1999 and 2008 (IMF 2010). Even in 2009, the year immediately following the global financial crisis, China posted 8.7 per cent growth. Over the past 20 years poverty has been significantly alleviated (World Bank 2010) and urban unemployment has averaged less than 5 per cent; although this figure excludes redundant workers from state enterprises and migrant workers.
