Four decades after the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping launched a policy of "reform and opening up", China has become a huge economic power only preceded by the United States. Here is a set of figures showing how this transformation took place:
- China's economy doubled 42 times between 1980 and 2017, rising from $ 305 billion to $ 12.7 trillion.
- The number of billionaires in China rose to 620, the most in the world, according to the Huron Report of Shanghai. The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, leads the list with a fortune of more than $ 39 billion.
- China ranks first as the world's largest exporter, exporting $ 2.49 trillion worth of goods and services in 2017, much more than the United States, which ranked second. In 1980, Chinese exports amounted to only 21 billion US dollars.
- The growth rate of the Chinese economy rose to 10.2% between 1980 and 2016.
- China's foreign investment reached $ 384 billion in 2016 and 2017 alone, after it was almost nonexistent in 1980.
- China's domestic consumption doubled 90 times between 1980 and 2016, rising from $ 49 billion to $ 4.4 trillion.
In contrast, carbon dioxide emissions have doubled five times between 1980 and 2014, and the country's growth does not come without environmental costs.
- The illiteracy rate dropped to 4% from 22% in 1979.
- China's population rose to 1.4 billion from 963 million in 1978.