China's Path and Progress

China's current pace of economic development is climbing as fast as this flight of stairs leading to the temple on Tai Shan Mountain in Old China. The Chinese describe their economic system as socialism with Chinese characteristics. In 2012, China's Gross Domestic Product was ranked 2nd in the world. Thanks to a current population of 1.3 billion people, there is no shortage of a labor force in China. This abundance of labor helped quadruple the highway network, triple the rail freight system and increase economic growth at a rate of 8-10% per year from 1978 to 2008. China's economy moved away from agriculture and heavy industry towards light manufacturing and the service sector. China is changing rapidly whether anyone likes it or not. It is very important that we as a world begin to understand China's history as well as their path moving forward.