Evil capitalism:
The economic reforms implemented in 1978 helped to propel China into the ranks of the world's major economic powers. The economic development of Shenzhen has caused the city to be referred to as the world's next Silicon Valley.[112][113] The provinces in the coastal regions of China, including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong, tend to be more industrialized while regions in the hinterland are less developed.
To guide economic development, the Chinese central government adopts "five-year plans" that detail its economic priorities and essential policies. The Fourteenth Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) is currently being implemented, placing an emphasis on consumption-driven growth and technological self-sufficiency while China transitions from being an upper middle-income economy to a high-income economy.[115]
The public sector plays a central role in China's economy.[116] This development is also in line with the planning goals of the Chinese central government to achieve the "Two Centenaries", namely the material goal of China becoming a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2021 and the modernization goal of China becoming a "strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and modern socialist country" by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.[117] China retains state control over the commanding heights of the economy in key industries like infrastructure, telecommunications, and finance despite significant marketization of the economy since reform and opening up.[118]: 20 Specific mechanisms implementing its control of the commanding heights in these areas include public property rights, pervasive administrative involvement, and Communist Party supervision of senior managers.[118]: 20
Like Japan and South Korea before it, China's economy has grown rapidly, raising the income levels and living standards of its citizens while producing goods that are consumed globally. China brought more people out of extreme poverty than any other country in history[119][120]—between 1978 and 2018, China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million.[121] Between 1981 and 2019, the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty decreased from 88.1% to 0.2%.[7] Its current account surplus increased by a factor of 53 between 1982 and 2021, from $5.67 billion to $317 billion.[122] During this time, China also became an industrial powerhouse, moving beyond initial successes in low-wage sectors like clothing and footwear to the increasingly sophisticated production of computers, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles. China's factories generated $3.7 trillion real manufacturing value added, more than the US, South Korea, Germany and the UK combined. China's manufacturing sector benefits from the world's largest domestic market, immense manufacturing scale, and highly developed manufacturing supply chains.[123]
In mid-2014 China announced it was taking steps to boost the economy, which at the time was running at a rate 7.4% per annum, but was slowing. The measures included plans to build a multi-tier transport network, comprising railways, roads and airports, to create a new economic belt alongside the Yangtze River.[124]
In terms of domestic saving, defined as combined saving of households, businesses, and governments, China is the world's largest saving country as of at least 2022.[125]: 27