ABSTRACT
The fuel tor China's rise to economic pre-eminence will be provided by continual modernization and growth along the coastal regions stretching from Hong Kong through Xiamen, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian. Chinas contact with the Western world inspired two geopolitical changes. The first was the development of coastal areas; the second was basic social change, which led to reform movements and eventually to political revolutions. The Chinese government has launched three large environmental change projects: the Three Gorges Dam Project, the South-North Water Diversion Project or Nan Sui Bei Diao, and the West-East Gas Project or Xi Qi Dong Song. In modern economic history, China's industrial development and trade expansion have been unique and unparalleled. Through adapting a policy of capitalism, absorbing massive foreign investment, and encouraging international trade, China's economy, with its abundant cheap labor, has experienced explosive growth.
