Economy
China's Economy became a mixed economy after 1978 when the economic reform began. Since then, by utilizing a series of 5 year plans created to tackle a number of economic probles as they arose, the standard of living in China has greatly imporoved. It is forcasted that by 2030 the Gross National Production of China will be equal to that of the United States. This is being achieved by increasing the output of farmers and industry in a way that no CPC economic policy has done in the past, by not allowing ideologies to prevent China from using "whatever works" to increase productivity, and gradually implelenting elements of capatalism into Chinese Socialism. In the past few years, China has been working hard to ensure supplies of resources such as oil and raise the standard of living in China even further.
Agriculture
Because of China's huge population and landmass, it is one of the world's foremost agricultural powers. Much of China's farmlands is suitable for growing many differant types of crops, and in the past few years an increased focus has been placed on animal husbandry and mariculture, marine agriculture. China's chief agricultural products include: Crops--rice, wheat, sweet potatoes, gaoliang (Chinese sorghum), millet, corn (maize), cotton, tobacco, sugarcane, potatoes, soybeans, barley, peanuts, tea. Livestock--cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep.
Industry and Construction
China's production of all major industrial items (coal, oil, metals, chemicals, cloth, yarn and others) have increased significantly since 1978. One of the most notable increases in China's industrial output is technology. Items such as color TV sets, refridgerators, washing machines, air conditioners, cameras, video records, DVD players etc. have been raised into the millions of units whereas recently China produced none of these items. A focus on technological manufacturing coupled with increased production of raw materials to meet a growing need in China is one of the contributing factors in the success of Chinese economic reform. Though China has made rapid progress in industry, irrational structure within industries and unbalanced development in regional economies still exist. The reform of state enterprises has just been started, and the tasks are arduous. Facing the 21st century, China will quicken its steps in restructuring industry and establishing its new-type industrial system as fast as it can to suit the development of socialist market economy.
Foreign Economic Relations
Foreign investment in China has increased over 13 billion dollars since 1999. In 2003 rapid growth was registered in foreign trade, and the Import of energy and raw materials including oil, steel, and aluminum increased substantially. A number of bilateral agreements with various China neighbors and major foreign powers including the EU, US, and Japan were signed, increasing the ease of trade with foreign nations.
Tourism
Today, China's tourism industry is still recovering from the SARS epidemic of 2003. The overall number of travelers into China in 2003 decreased over 6 percent from 2002. Even domestic travel within China suffered greatly. The fear of infection has dissipated since then and business as usual has resumed. China has expanded its tourist destinations in order to compensate for the drop and to give the industry a boost for the future. 59 new destinations were approved in 2003, 28 of which offer services to tourist groups of Chinese citizens.
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