ABSTRACT
Domestically, China has experienced rapid economic growth and varying degrees of political stability. Since the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square incident, the Chinese leadership has shown a considerable capacity to regulate the pace of reforms, easing social strains and building a consensus among different groups of the population. In 1991, the Chinese government renewed its pledge to accelerate economic change. Since then, important initiatives have been advanced to further liberalize the national economy. As a result, the annual GDP at both national and individual levels increased tremendously; over the twenty-year period from 1978 to 1999 GDP increased 13.7 times and per capita GDP grew from RMB 379 to RMB 6,547, nearly an eighteen-fold increase (see Table 5.2).
