China Economy Forum
- Thread starter EagleEyes
- Start date
AndrewJin
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2015
- Messages
- 14,904
- Reaction score
- 23
- Country
- Location
Ili pika and pikachu are friends!
DoTell
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2013
- Messages
- 868
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
China's 2014 exports total $2.343 trillion
China's Top 10 Exports - World's Top Exports
----------
US 2014 exports total $1.623 trillion
United States Top 10 Exports - World's Top Exports
"In 2014 exports from America amounted to US$1.623 trillion, up 27.1% since 2010."
----------
German 2014 exports total $1.28 trillion
German exports hit record high in 2014 | Business | DW.DE | 09.02.2015
"Germany exported a record 1.13 trillion euros ($1.28 trillion) worth of goods and services last year - 3.7 percent more than in 2013, according to figures released Monday by the country's statistics office, Destatis."
----------
Japanese 2014 exports total $0.691 trillion
Top Japan Exports
"...Japan was the world's number 4 exporter in 2014. Japan shipped US$691.2 billion worth of goods, down by 10.2% since 2010."
As usual China posted gigantic numbers. What's even more impressive is the make up of China's exports. 41% of it are electronics and machinery products. Low end, non environment friendly and high labor intensive products such as clothing, plastics and steel etc only contributed about 15% of the total. This is a good indication that China is moving up the technology ladder while maintaining the momentum of export. Very impressive!
Germany is also advancing very fast. Not sure what made them so successful. Perhaps it is because they are the biggest economy in Europe, surrounded by wealthy and yet smaller countries who has money but not enough capacity to make things on their own. Being the leader of EU helps too.
America is America. The country is too vast, too talented to not be a big exporter.
Japan is losing its advantage faster than you can blink. Most of its traditionally strong export products such as electronics and automobiles are facing ever stronger challenges from South Korea and China. An aging country with almost no natural resources on its own land, fighting over deep internal debt issues, it's in for a long, long struggle.
Raphael
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2012
- Messages
- 3,287
- Reaction score
- 5
- Country
- Location
Didn't know where else to post this because HK bullsh!t doesn't warrant its own thread:
Mainland denies entry to Occupy students - Global Times
Mainland denies entry to Occupy students
Two students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), who have participated in the Occupy Central movement, were denied entry to the Chinese mainland during Tomb-Sweeping Festival, Hong Kong-based Mingpao reported Sunday.
Kwan Wai-hung, former vice president of the CUHK's students union, told Mingpao that he tried to enter Guangdong Province for the festival on Saturday but was rejected for "having participated in illegal activities and [his admission] may threaten national security."
The Occupy Central movement was a months-long protest demanding political reform universal suffrage for the 2017 chief executive election.
Kwan said that customs officers led him to a room, took away his ID card, checked his bag and took his pictures. After nearly an hour's wait, he was told he was forbidden from passing customs and should be back to Hong Kong.
He said that he only helped organize negotiations for the movement and participated as an ordinary citizen, before he quit his position in the students union last year and was not active in the student federation either.
Kwan added that he was worried that it might affect his employment prospects in the mainland and that he might not be able to visit the mainland in the next two or three years.
Another former member of the CUHK's students union, Fung Sai-kit, was also denied entry the same day.
Fung said that custom officers denied him entry into the mainland based on the regulations on exit and entry frontier inspection and sent him back to Hong Kong. He said that he plans to try to enter again during the summer holidays.
"For national security reasons, the local government is justified in denying their entry," Zhang Dinghuai, a professor at Shenzhen University, told the Global Times Monday.
According to a survey conducted by the news portal sina.com.cn, 81.7 percent of 30,894 netizens voted to agree with the customs decision, with some saying that "everybody should pay for their mistakes."
According to the Hong Kong-based newspaper Oriental Daily News in November 2014, one of the Occupy Central movement's organizers was rejected by customs officers in Shenzhen, Guangdong for having participated in activities that violate national security.
During Tomb-Sweeping Festival, Hong-Kong based Wen Wei Po reported that the region saw a sharp drop in the number of visitors and in tourism and retail business due to the parallel-goods traders.
The term "parallel-goods traders" refers to Chinese mainlanders who go to Hong Kong to buy cheaper products, such as infant formula and cosmetics, which they then sell at inflated prices.
Mainland denies entry to Occupy students - Global Times
Mainland denies entry to Occupy students
Two students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), who have participated in the Occupy Central movement, were denied entry to the Chinese mainland during Tomb-Sweeping Festival, Hong Kong-based Mingpao reported Sunday.
Kwan Wai-hung, former vice president of the CUHK's students union, told Mingpao that he tried to enter Guangdong Province for the festival on Saturday but was rejected for "having participated in illegal activities and [his admission] may threaten national security."
The Occupy Central movement was a months-long protest demanding political reform universal suffrage for the 2017 chief executive election.
Kwan said that customs officers led him to a room, took away his ID card, checked his bag and took his pictures. After nearly an hour's wait, he was told he was forbidden from passing customs and should be back to Hong Kong.
He said that he only helped organize negotiations for the movement and participated as an ordinary citizen, before he quit his position in the students union last year and was not active in the student federation either.
Kwan added that he was worried that it might affect his employment prospects in the mainland and that he might not be able to visit the mainland in the next two or three years.
Another former member of the CUHK's students union, Fung Sai-kit, was also denied entry the same day.
Fung said that custom officers denied him entry into the mainland based on the regulations on exit and entry frontier inspection and sent him back to Hong Kong. He said that he plans to try to enter again during the summer holidays.
"For national security reasons, the local government is justified in denying their entry," Zhang Dinghuai, a professor at Shenzhen University, told the Global Times Monday.
According to a survey conducted by the news portal sina.com.cn, 81.7 percent of 30,894 netizens voted to agree with the customs decision, with some saying that "everybody should pay for their mistakes."
According to the Hong Kong-based newspaper Oriental Daily News in November 2014, one of the Occupy Central movement's organizers was rejected by customs officers in Shenzhen, Guangdong for having participated in activities that violate national security.
During Tomb-Sweeping Festival, Hong-Kong based Wen Wei Po reported that the region saw a sharp drop in the number of visitors and in tourism and retail business due to the parallel-goods traders.
The term "parallel-goods traders" refers to Chinese mainlanders who go to Hong Kong to buy cheaper products, such as infant formula and cosmetics, which they then sell at inflated prices.
terranMarine
BANNED
- Joined
- May 3, 2012
- Messages
- 7,597
- Reaction score
- -18
- Country
- Location
Probably prominent students who stands out can easily be refused of entry. There were so many faggots taking part of the demonstrations, not possible to find out their identities. Time to apply asylum 
chou.wong
FULL MEMBER
New Recruit
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2015
- Messages
- 51
- Reaction score
- 0
- Country
- Location
i am sure you are from china ,and me to hahahha
TaiShang
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
- Messages
- 27,848
- Reaction score
- 70
- Country
- Location
China's two largest insurance companies had their first bite of U.S. commercial real estate, buying a majority stake in a 500 million U.S. dollar project in the city of Boston.
China Life Insurance Company and Ping An Insurance Company of China will serve as co-investors in Tishman Speyer's prime waterfront site at Pier 4 in Boston's popular Seaport District.
Chinese insurance giants take first bite of U.S. real estate - People's Daily Online
China Life Insurance Company and Ping An Insurance Company of China will serve as co-investors in Tishman Speyer's prime waterfront site at Pier 4 in Boston's popular Seaport District.
Chinese insurance giants take first bite of U.S. real estate - People's Daily Online
TaiShang
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
- Messages
- 27,848
- Reaction score
- 70
- Country
- Location
Australia approves sale of John Holland to China firm
CRI, April 9, 2015
A photo of a construction track from John Holland, one of the Australia's largest engineering and construction companies [File photo]
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey has approved the acquisition of John Holland by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company.
The deal is reported to be worth about 880 million U. S. dollars.
John Holland is one of Australia's largest engineering and construction companies.
China Communications Construction Company is the fourth-largest construction company in the world by revenue, with a presence in over 80 countries and regions.
The company is listed as CCCC on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.
The deal was originally set to be finalized by the end of last month.
CRI, April 9, 2015
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey has approved the acquisition of John Holland by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company.
The deal is reported to be worth about 880 million U. S. dollars.
John Holland is one of Australia's largest engineering and construction companies.
China Communications Construction Company is the fourth-largest construction company in the world by revenue, with a presence in over 80 countries and regions.
The company is listed as CCCC on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.
The deal was originally set to be finalized by the end of last month.
TaiShang
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2014
- Messages
- 27,848
- Reaction score
- 70
- Country
- Location
Maintaining a Commitment to Common Prosperity
By: Wei LiqunFrom:English Edition of Qiushi Journal January-March 2015 | Vol.7,No.1,Issue No.22 |
I. Common prosperity: the essence of socialism
Common prosperity means attaining a good standard of living for more than 1.3 billion Chinese people. To be more specific, it means gradually bringing affluence to all members of society through the development of productive forces, so that all people can benefit from the fruits of development. To achieve common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism, and a goal that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has worked tirelessly to achieve. As Deng Xiaoping once asserted, the greatest superiority of socialism lies in its ability to bring prosperity to all. This is something that demonstrates the essence of socialism.
The CPC has always regarded common prosperity as one of its most important goals. At its Eighteenth National Congress convened in 1956, the CPC identified the pursuit of common prosperity as one of the basic requirements for the continued success of Chinese socialism under new historical conditions, highlighting it as a fundamental principle of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In his address to the domestic and foreign press during the debut of the newly elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping made the following solemn commitment: “The people yearn for a better life, and our goal is to help them achieve it. Our responsibility is to bring together the CPC and people of all ethnic groups in China and lead them in continuing to free the mind, in committing to reform and opening up, in constantly releasing and developing productive forces, in working hard to resolve difficulties in production and everyday life, and in unswervingly following the path of common prosperity.” This commitment reflects the common aspirations of both the CPC and all the people in China. It is a fundamental requirement that must be met if we are to realize socialist modernization and bring about the Chinese Dream — the great renewal of the Chinese nation.
Lhamo, a Tibetan woman from Zhaxigang Village, has her own “Chinese Dream” (Photograph taken on April 16, 2013). The growth of local tourism is underpinning the “Chinese Dream” of farmers and herders in Zhaxigang Village. In the eyes of the villagers, the “Chinese Dream” is synonymous with “common prosperity” and “well-protected eco-environment.” Lhamo’s dream of common prosperity is gradually becoming a reality. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER CHEN TIANHU
The founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the establishment of the socialist system created the basic conditions and institutional guarantee for the realization of common prosperity in the country. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee held at the end of 1978, at which the historic decision to launch reform and opening up was made, the CPC has repeatedly emphasized that China must keep to the path of common prosperity in order to achieve socialist modernization. Over the past 36 years, by continuing to release and develop productive forces through reform and opening up, we have made achievements in socialist modernization that have captivated the world. As a result, both our productive forces and overall national strength have reached new heights. As productive forces keep increasing, we have turned to economic reform and the adjustment of income distribution relations to balance the relationship between those who become rich first and those who have yet to prosper, with a view to achieving common prosperity. As a result of these efforts, the Chinese people have witnessed remarkable improvements in their standard of living, and China has achieved a historic leap from a state of destitution to a state of moderate prosperity in most respects, and is now well on its way to achieving moderate prosperity in all aspects.
In particular, the CPC has placed a major emphasis on poverty alleviation. Through the formulation and implementation of an anti-poverty strategy, China became the first country in the world to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the population in poverty, thereby making a great contribution to the global cause of poverty reduction. Under the leadership of the CPC, the destinies of over one fifth of the world’s population have been fundamentally changed. This achievement bears testament to the great strides that China has made towards realizing common prosperity since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and particularly since the launch of the reform and opening up drive. These huge feats of development and social progress have no equal — neither now nor in the past; neither in China nor elsewhere.
II. A long and bitter struggle ahead in realizing common prosperity
In just a few decades, China, a country with a population in excess of 1.3 billion, has managed to traverse a process of development that would take several centuries in developed countries. This is something that we have every right to be proud of. However, we also need to be aware that we still have a long and bitter struggle ahead of us if we are to bring affluence and a better standard of living to more than 1.3 billion Chinese people. The nature of this struggle is determined by China’s basic national conditions at its current stage of development.
An analysis of the realities in China at present reveals that China’s society and economy are still underdeveloped on the whole. This is primarily manifested in three areas.
First, on the whole, productive forces are still underdeveloped.
China’s two most striking national conditions are its large population and underdeveloped economy. Although China has made remarkable achievements in economic development over the last 36 years of reform and opening up, establishing itself as one of the world’s major economies, the fact remains that it is not yet a leading world economy, having yet to bid farewell to underdevelopment. Even as the second largest economy in the world, China’s population of 1.3 billion means that it still places itself towards the lower end of world rankings in terms of GDP per capita and production indexes for major products. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China’s GDP per capita was US$ 6,094 in 2012, ranking 84th in the world. China’s economy is by no means small. But in addition to a low GDP per capita, it also has a low quality of economic growth and an irrational economic structure, which means that it relies primarily on industry to achieve growth while the contribution of science and technology to growth is low. It is also overly dependent on the input of material resources, land, and labor to achieve growth, which is evidenced by the fact that energy consumption per unit GDP in China is 2.78 times that of the world average. China’s capacity for technological innovation is also insufficient. With a lack of core technologies and brand-name products, commodities produced in China tend to be low in added value. According to statistics, 90% of China’s exports are produced by Original Equipment Manufacturers. This means that 20% of the income from selling each cellphone, 30% from selling each computer, and 20% to 40% from selling each digitally controlled machine tool goes to patent holders abroad.
Second, development is still imbalanced between urban and rural areas and between different regions.
At present, though 53.7% of China’s permanent population live in urban areas, only 36% being registered as permanent urban residents under the household registration system. This rate of urbanization is considerably lower than the average rate of 80% for developed countries, and lower than the average rate of 60% for developing countries with a similar level of per capita income. The process of urbanization in China has also been uneven, with central and western regions lagging behind the eastern region. Now, the rate of urbanization (the percentage of the population permanently residing in urban areas) in the country’s eastern region is 62.2%, compared to just 48.5% and 44.8% in the central and western regions. In 2012, the per capita net income of people in rural areas was only 7,917 RMB, less than one third of the per capita disposable income of urban residents. Rural infrastructure and public services are also weak, with many rural areas still plagued by underdeveloped transportation, shortage of drinking water and electricity. In 2012, the per capita GDPs of the three municipalities of Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai were US$ 15,069, US$ 13,967, and US$ 13,565, close to or even higher than that of some mid-level income countries. In contrast, the per capita GDPs of the three provinces of Yunnan, Gansu, and Guizhou, which rank among the least developed provinces in China, were just US$ 3,542, US$ 3,506, and US$ 3,120 in 2012. Moreover, in some places, the per capita GDP is as low as US$ 1,000. The developmental gap between urban and rural areas, and between different regions, having long been in existence, is attributable to a wide range of factors. Thus, to narrow down the gap will inevitably call for arduous and long-term efforts.
Third, large numbers of people are still living in poverty or on low incomes.
Right now, more than 74 million Chinese people in urban and rural areas are relying on government-provided subsistence allowances to meet their most basic daily needs. Each year more than 10 million people enter the labor force in China’s cities and towns, and there are still hundreds of millions of people in rural areas who have yet to move out of agriculture and settle down in cities. Of the rural migrant workers who have already relocated to cities, more than 200 million have yet to receive the same level of public services that permanent urban residents enjoy. In addition, there are more than 85 million disabled people in China. According to World Bank (WB) poverty standards, there are still more than 200 million people living below the poverty line in China, which nearly equals the combined populations of France, Germany, and Great Britain. Most poverty-stricken areas in China are characterized by harsh natural environments and poor production and living conditions. For this reason, enormous efforts are required to lift people in these regions out of poverty. Even in relatively developed cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, there are still people living in difficulty. During the 40 days before, during and after the Spring Festival last year, a total of 3.6 billion journeys were made in China by air, rail, and road, the equivalent of 90 million people traveling every day. This serves as an indication that the quality of living for a significant proportion of the population is still low.
III. Gradual advance towards the goal of common prosperity
Our struggle for common prosperity will be a long and arduous one. Proceeding on the basis of reality, we must adopt a long-term view, deepen the reform, formulate overall plans, and carry out policies in an integrated fashion. Four principles need to be adhered to in our efforts to realize common prosperity.
First, we must continue to make releasing and developing productive forces our primary task.
Without the foundation provided by advanced productive forces, we will be unable to make the “pie” of social wealth bigger, and the goal of common prosperity will be nothing but a fantasy. Therefore, in line with the reality that China is still in the primary stage of socialism, we must make major efforts to release and develop productive forces during the process of reform and opening up, and lay down a strong material foundation for the realization of common prosperity.
Second, we must continue to improve the basic socialist economic system and distribution system.
We must uphold and improve our basic socialist economic system, in which public ownership is the mainstay and ownership in other forms develop side by side, so as to fundamentally prevent polarization and ensure that all people can enjoy the fruits of development. We must also uphold and improve our income distribution system, in which distribution according to work is the main form and multiple forms of distribution coexist, and deepen income distribution reform so as to adjust distribution patterns of national income. In other words, not only must we make the “pie” bigger, but we need to divide it more fairly. On the one hand, we should lay emphasis on efficiency, using differences in income to fully motivate the participants of economic activities and promote sustained economic growth; on the other hand, we need to emphasize fairness, making sure that everyone can benefit from the fruits of China’s development.
Third, we must commit to the important policy of narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas and between different regions.
In order to narrow down the urban-rural and regional development gaps, it is essential that we step up our efforts to coordinate development in urban and rural areas. In addition to raising the level of urbanization in an active yet steady fashion, we need to continue to nurture agriculture with help from industry, support the countryside through urban initiatives, and do more to increase spending, relieve burdens, and loosen restrictions in rural areas. We need to accelerate the development of a new socialist countryside, vigorously promote agricultural modernization, speed up the development of a rural public service system, and advance the integration of urban and rural development, so that all farmers can participate in the process of modernization and share the fruits of modernization equally. In addition, with a view to promoting balanced regional development, we need to carry out our overall strategy of regional development in a more effective way. Particularly, we need to prioritize the large-scale development of the western region, comprehensively revitalize the old industrial bases of the northeast, vigorously promote the rise of the central region, and support the eastern region in taking the lead in development. We also need to actively promote poverty alleviation through development by stepping up institutional innovation, raising expenditure, and providing greater support for targeted recipients and poverty-stricken areas.
Fourth, we must continue to foster the spirit of hard-work and dedication.
Hard-work, diligence, and frugality are fine traditions and virtues of the Chinese nation. These traits are formed due to our relative shortage of natural resources per capita, which constitutes one of China’s basic national conditions. Promoting modernization in such a country as China, we need to balance the relationships between accumulation and consumption and between building the country and ensuring livelihood, and tackle problems and difficulties ahead. More importantly, we must do everything we can to use financial resources, material resources, and other kinds of resources in an economical way wherever possible.
Wei Liqun is President of the China Society of Administrative Reform.
(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No.15, 2014)
By: Wei LiqunFrom:English Edition of Qiushi Journal January-March 2015 | Vol.7,No.1,Issue No.22 |
I. Common prosperity: the essence of socialism
Common prosperity means attaining a good standard of living for more than 1.3 billion Chinese people. To be more specific, it means gradually bringing affluence to all members of society through the development of productive forces, so that all people can benefit from the fruits of development. To achieve common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism, and a goal that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has worked tirelessly to achieve. As Deng Xiaoping once asserted, the greatest superiority of socialism lies in its ability to bring prosperity to all. This is something that demonstrates the essence of socialism.
The CPC has always regarded common prosperity as one of its most important goals. At its Eighteenth National Congress convened in 1956, the CPC identified the pursuit of common prosperity as one of the basic requirements for the continued success of Chinese socialism under new historical conditions, highlighting it as a fundamental principle of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In his address to the domestic and foreign press during the debut of the newly elected Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, General Secretary Xi Jinping made the following solemn commitment: “The people yearn for a better life, and our goal is to help them achieve it. Our responsibility is to bring together the CPC and people of all ethnic groups in China and lead them in continuing to free the mind, in committing to reform and opening up, in constantly releasing and developing productive forces, in working hard to resolve difficulties in production and everyday life, and in unswervingly following the path of common prosperity.” This commitment reflects the common aspirations of both the CPC and all the people in China. It is a fundamental requirement that must be met if we are to realize socialist modernization and bring about the Chinese Dream — the great renewal of the Chinese nation.
Lhamo, a Tibetan woman from Zhaxigang Village, has her own “Chinese Dream” (Photograph taken on April 16, 2013). The growth of local tourism is underpinning the “Chinese Dream” of farmers and herders in Zhaxigang Village. In the eyes of the villagers, the “Chinese Dream” is synonymous with “common prosperity” and “well-protected eco-environment.” Lhamo’s dream of common prosperity is gradually becoming a reality. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER CHEN TIANHU
The founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the establishment of the socialist system created the basic conditions and institutional guarantee for the realization of common prosperity in the country. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee held at the end of 1978, at which the historic decision to launch reform and opening up was made, the CPC has repeatedly emphasized that China must keep to the path of common prosperity in order to achieve socialist modernization. Over the past 36 years, by continuing to release and develop productive forces through reform and opening up, we have made achievements in socialist modernization that have captivated the world. As a result, both our productive forces and overall national strength have reached new heights. As productive forces keep increasing, we have turned to economic reform and the adjustment of income distribution relations to balance the relationship between those who become rich first and those who have yet to prosper, with a view to achieving common prosperity. As a result of these efforts, the Chinese people have witnessed remarkable improvements in their standard of living, and China has achieved a historic leap from a state of destitution to a state of moderate prosperity in most respects, and is now well on its way to achieving moderate prosperity in all aspects.
In particular, the CPC has placed a major emphasis on poverty alleviation. Through the formulation and implementation of an anti-poverty strategy, China became the first country in the world to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the population in poverty, thereby making a great contribution to the global cause of poverty reduction. Under the leadership of the CPC, the destinies of over one fifth of the world’s population have been fundamentally changed. This achievement bears testament to the great strides that China has made towards realizing common prosperity since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and particularly since the launch of the reform and opening up drive. These huge feats of development and social progress have no equal — neither now nor in the past; neither in China nor elsewhere.
II. A long and bitter struggle ahead in realizing common prosperity
In just a few decades, China, a country with a population in excess of 1.3 billion, has managed to traverse a process of development that would take several centuries in developed countries. This is something that we have every right to be proud of. However, we also need to be aware that we still have a long and bitter struggle ahead of us if we are to bring affluence and a better standard of living to more than 1.3 billion Chinese people. The nature of this struggle is determined by China’s basic national conditions at its current stage of development.
An analysis of the realities in China at present reveals that China’s society and economy are still underdeveloped on the whole. This is primarily manifested in three areas.
First, on the whole, productive forces are still underdeveloped.
China’s two most striking national conditions are its large population and underdeveloped economy. Although China has made remarkable achievements in economic development over the last 36 years of reform and opening up, establishing itself as one of the world’s major economies, the fact remains that it is not yet a leading world economy, having yet to bid farewell to underdevelopment. Even as the second largest economy in the world, China’s population of 1.3 billion means that it still places itself towards the lower end of world rankings in terms of GDP per capita and production indexes for major products. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China’s GDP per capita was US$ 6,094 in 2012, ranking 84th in the world. China’s economy is by no means small. But in addition to a low GDP per capita, it also has a low quality of economic growth and an irrational economic structure, which means that it relies primarily on industry to achieve growth while the contribution of science and technology to growth is low. It is also overly dependent on the input of material resources, land, and labor to achieve growth, which is evidenced by the fact that energy consumption per unit GDP in China is 2.78 times that of the world average. China’s capacity for technological innovation is also insufficient. With a lack of core technologies and brand-name products, commodities produced in China tend to be low in added value. According to statistics, 90% of China’s exports are produced by Original Equipment Manufacturers. This means that 20% of the income from selling each cellphone, 30% from selling each computer, and 20% to 40% from selling each digitally controlled machine tool goes to patent holders abroad.
Second, development is still imbalanced between urban and rural areas and between different regions.
At present, though 53.7% of China’s permanent population live in urban areas, only 36% being registered as permanent urban residents under the household registration system. This rate of urbanization is considerably lower than the average rate of 80% for developed countries, and lower than the average rate of 60% for developing countries with a similar level of per capita income. The process of urbanization in China has also been uneven, with central and western regions lagging behind the eastern region. Now, the rate of urbanization (the percentage of the population permanently residing in urban areas) in the country’s eastern region is 62.2%, compared to just 48.5% and 44.8% in the central and western regions. In 2012, the per capita net income of people in rural areas was only 7,917 RMB, less than one third of the per capita disposable income of urban residents. Rural infrastructure and public services are also weak, with many rural areas still plagued by underdeveloped transportation, shortage of drinking water and electricity. In 2012, the per capita GDPs of the three municipalities of Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai were US$ 15,069, US$ 13,967, and US$ 13,565, close to or even higher than that of some mid-level income countries. In contrast, the per capita GDPs of the three provinces of Yunnan, Gansu, and Guizhou, which rank among the least developed provinces in China, were just US$ 3,542, US$ 3,506, and US$ 3,120 in 2012. Moreover, in some places, the per capita GDP is as low as US$ 1,000. The developmental gap between urban and rural areas, and between different regions, having long been in existence, is attributable to a wide range of factors. Thus, to narrow down the gap will inevitably call for arduous and long-term efforts.
Third, large numbers of people are still living in poverty or on low incomes.
Right now, more than 74 million Chinese people in urban and rural areas are relying on government-provided subsistence allowances to meet their most basic daily needs. Each year more than 10 million people enter the labor force in China’s cities and towns, and there are still hundreds of millions of people in rural areas who have yet to move out of agriculture and settle down in cities. Of the rural migrant workers who have already relocated to cities, more than 200 million have yet to receive the same level of public services that permanent urban residents enjoy. In addition, there are more than 85 million disabled people in China. According to World Bank (WB) poverty standards, there are still more than 200 million people living below the poverty line in China, which nearly equals the combined populations of France, Germany, and Great Britain. Most poverty-stricken areas in China are characterized by harsh natural environments and poor production and living conditions. For this reason, enormous efforts are required to lift people in these regions out of poverty. Even in relatively developed cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, there are still people living in difficulty. During the 40 days before, during and after the Spring Festival last year, a total of 3.6 billion journeys were made in China by air, rail, and road, the equivalent of 90 million people traveling every day. This serves as an indication that the quality of living for a significant proportion of the population is still low.
III. Gradual advance towards the goal of common prosperity
Our struggle for common prosperity will be a long and arduous one. Proceeding on the basis of reality, we must adopt a long-term view, deepen the reform, formulate overall plans, and carry out policies in an integrated fashion. Four principles need to be adhered to in our efforts to realize common prosperity.
First, we must continue to make releasing and developing productive forces our primary task.
Without the foundation provided by advanced productive forces, we will be unable to make the “pie” of social wealth bigger, and the goal of common prosperity will be nothing but a fantasy. Therefore, in line with the reality that China is still in the primary stage of socialism, we must make major efforts to release and develop productive forces during the process of reform and opening up, and lay down a strong material foundation for the realization of common prosperity.
Second, we must continue to improve the basic socialist economic system and distribution system.
We must uphold and improve our basic socialist economic system, in which public ownership is the mainstay and ownership in other forms develop side by side, so as to fundamentally prevent polarization and ensure that all people can enjoy the fruits of development. We must also uphold and improve our income distribution system, in which distribution according to work is the main form and multiple forms of distribution coexist, and deepen income distribution reform so as to adjust distribution patterns of national income. In other words, not only must we make the “pie” bigger, but we need to divide it more fairly. On the one hand, we should lay emphasis on efficiency, using differences in income to fully motivate the participants of economic activities and promote sustained economic growth; on the other hand, we need to emphasize fairness, making sure that everyone can benefit from the fruits of China’s development.
Third, we must commit to the important policy of narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas and between different regions.
In order to narrow down the urban-rural and regional development gaps, it is essential that we step up our efforts to coordinate development in urban and rural areas. In addition to raising the level of urbanization in an active yet steady fashion, we need to continue to nurture agriculture with help from industry, support the countryside through urban initiatives, and do more to increase spending, relieve burdens, and loosen restrictions in rural areas. We need to accelerate the development of a new socialist countryside, vigorously promote agricultural modernization, speed up the development of a rural public service system, and advance the integration of urban and rural development, so that all farmers can participate in the process of modernization and share the fruits of modernization equally. In addition, with a view to promoting balanced regional development, we need to carry out our overall strategy of regional development in a more effective way. Particularly, we need to prioritize the large-scale development of the western region, comprehensively revitalize the old industrial bases of the northeast, vigorously promote the rise of the central region, and support the eastern region in taking the lead in development. We also need to actively promote poverty alleviation through development by stepping up institutional innovation, raising expenditure, and providing greater support for targeted recipients and poverty-stricken areas.
Fourth, we must continue to foster the spirit of hard-work and dedication.
Hard-work, diligence, and frugality are fine traditions and virtues of the Chinese nation. These traits are formed due to our relative shortage of natural resources per capita, which constitutes one of China’s basic national conditions. Promoting modernization in such a country as China, we need to balance the relationships between accumulation and consumption and between building the country and ensuring livelihood, and tackle problems and difficulties ahead. More importantly, we must do everything we can to use financial resources, material resources, and other kinds of resources in an economical way wherever possible.
Wei Liqun is President of the China Society of Administrative Reform.
(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No.15, 2014)
Xiaomi sets Guinness World Record for selling 2.11 million phones online in a day
Submitted bySrivatsan
onApril 9, 2015 – 2:26 pm
Xiaomi hasenteredinto the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 2.11 million phones online in 24 hours during its Mi Fan Fest in China yesterday. The company achieved this feat in just 12 hours. It earned revenue of 2.08 billion yuan (US$335 million approx.) in just 12 hours. It made 170 million yuan from accessories alone. It sold 720,000 units of smart appliances, 247,000 set of Mi Power Strip, 208,000 units of Mi Band, 79,000 units of Mi Wi-Fi and 38,600 sets of Mi TVs. It also sold 403,000 Power banks, 336,000 Mi Piston earphones and 3.12 million units of Mi air purifiers.
3.05 million orders were placed in total and 0.5 million orders were delivered with 12 hours though 12 major distribution centers in China. Xiaomi said that 1460 employees were working during the sale. 1800 service centers answered more than one million questions on that day. The company alreadysaidthat it aims to sell 100 million smartphones in 2015.
Submitted bySrivatsan
onApril 9, 2015 – 2:26 pm
Xiaomi hasenteredinto the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 2.11 million phones online in 24 hours during its Mi Fan Fest in China yesterday. The company achieved this feat in just 12 hours. It earned revenue of 2.08 billion yuan (US$335 million approx.) in just 12 hours. It made 170 million yuan from accessories alone. It sold 720,000 units of smart appliances, 247,000 set of Mi Power Strip, 208,000 units of Mi Band, 79,000 units of Mi Wi-Fi and 38,600 sets of Mi TVs. It also sold 403,000 Power banks, 336,000 Mi Piston earphones and 3.12 million units of Mi air purifiers.
3.05 million orders were placed in total and 0.5 million orders were delivered with 12 hours though 12 major distribution centers in China. Xiaomi said that 1460 employees were working during the sale. 1800 service centers answered more than one million questions on that day. The company alreadysaidthat it aims to sell 100 million smartphones in 2015.
Azizam
BANNED
- Joined
- May 26, 2013
- Messages
- 3,512
- Reaction score
- -8
- Country
- Location
@Shotgunner51 Do you think technological advancements in the foreseeable future will replace cheap labour and the countries where cheap labour is used to attract foreign MCUs will lose demand? If yes, in such a scenario what would be the best mechanisms to expand economies of such countries?
Bussard Ramjet
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2014
- Messages
- 3,978
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
No it won't. This is the point. In the foreseeable future, technological advancement wouldn't replace humans.
To advance the the GDP per capita of a country, you just need to engage in jobs higher up in the value chain.
Similar threads
