China’s rapid transformation

China has changed profoundly in the last two decades. Economic reforms introduced in the early 1980s have turned what was a closed, isolated country with a state-controlled agrarian economy into one of the world’s leading economic powers. Foreign trade has burgeoned, accounting for more than 40 per cent of China’s Gross Domestic Product, while per capita income has grown by an average of 10 per cent a year for the last 20 years.

A Miao woman attempts to capture on cassette the beauty of the choir as it sings during a church service. Yunnan Province. China. Photo: Asia-Pacific Regional Service Center/David Thorne (PRC03DJ-3)

In addition, China is attracting record amounts of foreign investment as international corporations seek a foothold in a country that is home to a quarter of the world’s population. The skylines of its major cities are unrecognisable following massive construction work and it is in the process of building what will be the world’s largest hydroelectric dam – the Three Gorges Dam.

As China’s relationship with the outside world has changed, the socio-economic climate within the country has also evolved. While most of its 1.2 billion people still live in rural areas, rapid urbanisation has taken place as millions of people, attracted by the opportunities of a market economy, have flooded into the cities in search of work.

While having sufficient food, housing and clothing were the major concerns of Chinese people 20 years ago, today many of those who live in the major cities are becoming sophisticated consumers in a global marketplace of brand-name clothing, mobile phones and other lifestyle products. The vast majority of China’s people, however, live in poor rural areas where many are still struggling with the basic needs of life. There are also millions of unemployed people in the cities who have lost their jobs as a result of economic reform. (WR 375/3 - 3.03)