Taiwan

With about two-thirds of Taiwan being mountainous the natural resources are scarce and depleted at best. Also being plagued by typhoons annually has caused many problems to the island. For these reasons Taiwan's economy relies mostly on small and medium enterprises. Taiwan's successful IT sector has earned the nickname Silicon Island. Prior to this economic success the island of Taiwan was mainly used by Europeans as a stopping point during travels to other areas in Asia.

Hong Kong and Macau

Prior to 1997 the economic decisions of Hong Kong were made by Business Elites. Under China rule the "one country, two systems" refers to the unchanged democratization of Hong Kong and Macau. The CCP has promised not to change anything in Hong Kong for 50 years. Hong Kong is often described as a laisser-faire economy which means the state neither owns nor controls the means of production. The driving force behind Macau's economy is gambling while Hong Kong's main industry is producer services.

Urban China

Urban centers first started to appear in China during the Shang Dynasty, but it was during the Song Dynasty when cities changed from mostly administrative duties to centers of commerce. People were allowed to move freely between urban and  rural China and many did so for work. This was called floating population. These rural residents that traveled to urban cities for work enjoyed a lot less of the opportunities and benefits than the people who lived in the urban cities. During the socialist era most of the Chinese city centers were political and administrative as well as economic centers. During the reform era more balanced development was sought. To have a greater balance between large, medium and small cities would be beneficial to the entire Chinese economy.