Abstract

LOPEZ VILLAFANE, Víctor. The rise of China's economic power: the end of the period of high economic growth and new challenges. Migr. desarro [online]. 2016, vol.14, n.26, pp.167-196. ISSN 1870-7599.

In the distant past, China was a great world power -its influence covered a significant portion of the planet. It was especially influential on the Asian continent. However, after the Europeans arrived in Asia, they came to dominate vast regions -including parts of China. In the 19th century this European incursion created the so-called "Semi colonial China" that lasted until the communists took the power in 1949. The Chinese launched several modernization programs with no success. This changed when the communists began the economic and political recovery of the country, under an economic program of self-reliance based on rural communes and industrialization throughout state-owned enterprises. After Mao's death, in 1978 the new leadership launched a new modernization effort to make China into a world economic power. Since then, foreign investment flowed into China and new western technologies were applied to innovative manufacturing industries, transforming the Chinese economy. A period of high economic growth was the most conspicuous outcome of this monumental change and China became the second world economic power as of 2012. Nonetheless, this period of high economic growth is over and China faces new challenges: social inequalities, political discontent, vast ecological problems and demographic changes.

Keywords : China; economic power; new challenges.

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