Authors: Jane Golley and Ligang Song, ANU

The first three decades of the 21^st century are almost certain to bring with them the completion of China’s rise on to the global economic, political and geopolitical stage.

The Chinese economy has contributed positively to world economic growth for decades, with a pivotal role during the global financial crisis (GFC). Read more…

Authors: Huw McKay, Yu Sheng and Ligang Song, ANU

China’s increasing demand for resources has been a key feature of the global landscape over the last decade. Despite its now dominant position in many spheres of the resources market, China’s per capita consumption of resources is still relatively low, consistent with its low income status. The path that China takes from here will have profound implications for the global demand and supply balance.

Will China continue to follow a path similar to Korea, will it eventually look more like Japan, a resource-intensive high-income economy, or will  it transition to a resting place similar to that of Western Europe and the United States? Read more…

Author: Ligang Song, ANU

China has succeeded in moving up the ladder of development through rapid growth in just three decades. The pace of China’s growth is not what is unique — Korea, Singapore and other economies in East Asia grew as fast in the 1970s and 1980s. What is unprecedented historically is its scale. The size of China’s population, market and geography, and the dynamism that flowed from economic reform and transformation are what define its impact on the rest of the world. Despite a still relatively low per capita income, the sheer size of the Chinese economy has made China a significant player in world production, consumption, trade and increasingly international finance and the environment.

The dynamics unleashed by Deng’s reform, the opening up policies and institutional changes have propelled continuous capital accumulation, productivity gains, trade and income growth on a scale the world has never seen before. Read more…

Author: Ligang Song, Crawford School, ANU

For the first time in modern economic history there is a joint effort underway among major economies in the world to stimulate economic growth through fiscal means in the middle of the global economic downturn. China’s stimulus package is equivalent to 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2009, well above the 2 per cent of GDP recommended by the International Monetary Fund.

This is not so much because China’s fiscal fundamentals are relatively sound and enable China to do more than others, but rather because too much is at stake for China to maintain a reasonably high growth rate against the backdrop of steeply falling exports and an abrupt easing of domestic economic activities. Read more…