China Case Study

Open Door Policy introduced

1978, 6 Special Economic Zones

SEZ tax incentive

15% as opposed to 33% originally

China FDI growth to 1999

$250 million to $11.4 billion

Chinese labour costs vs US

One-twelfth

Chinese exports as % of GNP 1978 vs 1996

10% to 36%

European Sovereign Debt Crisis effect on China

Financial inflows dropped by 16%

China's average tariff 1988 vs 2018

35% to 3.5%

China manufacturing export growth from 1980

16% per annum

China joined the WTO

2001

China's bilateral FTAs

14 currently in place

China's real GDP growth 1979–2018

Doubled on average every 8 years

US tariffs on Chinese imports (2018/19)

$200 billion

China's retaliation (2018/19)

$60 billion on US imports

2025 trade war escalation

US 10% tariffs in February, 145% by April (now back to 10%)

China's 2025 retaliatory tariffs

125%; bilateral trade fell nearly 90%

Made in China Plan focus (14th Five Year Plan, 2021–25)

Semiconductors, chip-making, AI

China's GFC stimulus

RMB 4 trillion (US$586 billion), 13% of GDP

China's growth after GFC stimulus

8.7%

2015 renminbi devaluation

2%

China's Q1 2020 contraction

6.8%; 2.2% growth for all of 2020

China's pandemic fiscal response

Around 4% of GDP

China's growth in 2025

Less than 5%

China CPI year to September 2025

-0.3%

Belt and Road Initiative

2013, $4–8 trillion, spans 152 countries

BRI exploitative examples

Sri Lanka and Myanmar repossessions, 99-year leases

China's income Gini 1980 vs 2009

0.30 to 0.49

China's Gini in 2020

0.46

Poverty reduction in China

800 million people

National income concentration in Chinese cities

60%

Non-residents in Shanghai (Hukou system)

60%

China rural minimum wage target (13th Plan, 2016)

40% of urban average wages

Welfare expenditure increase target

2% of fiscal expenditure

China's share of global greenhouse gas emissions

One-third

Air pollution premature deaths since 2010

1.2 million

15th Five Year Plan emissions pledge

Reduce emissions 55% by 2030, carbon neutrality by 2060

Paris Agreement ratification by China

2016

Renewable energy target

20% of energy by 2030

EV share of cars made in China

50%

China's climate policy rating

'Highly insufficient' — aligned with 3°C vs Paris 1.5°C

Chinese life expectancy 1981 vs now

68 years to 77 years

Cooperative Medical Scheme coverage

70% of medical bills for rural households

Healthy China 2020 life expectancy target

79 years (projected 80 by 2030)

Chinese average years of schooling

14.2

Chinese literacy rate

99.83%

China education spending growth

Over 20% per annum to $300 billion USD in 2014

China's HDI

0.797, ranked 78th, classified high by UN