|
Since
1978, along with the dismantling of the planned economy
system and the deepening of the reform of the economic
system, commodity, capital, labor service and technology
markets have appeared one after the other in China.
Now China has transformed its planned economy system into
an initial socialist market economy system. As a
result the regulatory function of the market has been
strengthened considerably.
Commodity
Market: In order to extend the regulatory
function of the market, the state has gradually reduced
the categories of products for planned production,
eliminated the restriction that enterprises were only
allowed tn engage in production but not in business
operation, and abolished the practice of the state fixing
the commodity prices. As a result, the rights of the
enterprises to purchase, produce and sell have been
extended.
Enterprises may organize and establish wholesale markets
and trading centers; the wholesale and retail commercial
systems are being restructured; and the non-public economy
is allowed to take part in commercial activities.
Through the reform, the unitary pattern in which the
public economy monopolized commercial activities has been
broken up step by step, and the commodity market pattern
of diversified economic elements and operation forms with
the public ownership of commerce as the main body has been
established.
|
Before
1978, there were 791 products belonging to
means of production allocated according to
state plans, but now only five of them
remain, and the rest have entered the
market. Now, thousands of department
stores, supermarkets and chain stores are
scattered everywhere in both rural and
urban areas.
A great variety of food, clothing and
other commodities satisfies the needs of
consumers. The total market sales
grow with each passing year. in
1998, the rural market achieved 1,132.7
billion yuan-worth of sales of consumer
goods, 12.9 times the figure in 1978; the
urban market achieved 1,782.5 billion yuan-worth
of sales of consumer goods, 23.8 times the
figure in 1978. At the same time a
buyer's market has appeared in the
commodities sector in which the supply and
demand of most commodities are kept in
balance, the supply of some gods exceeds
the demand, price trends are steady and
the guiding function of the market for
producers has been strengthened.
Back
to Top
Price
Reform: Before the reform and
opening was introduced, most commodities
on the Chinese market were priced by the
state. But since the start of the
reform and opening, along with the
expansion of the commodity market scale
and the change of the relations between
commodity supply and demand, the state has
carried out price reform step by step and
according to plan.
The fixing of prices by the state follows
three forms: the fixing of price by the
state, state guiding prices and market
regulatory prices. The market
regulatory price has been gradually
relaxed - by 1998 the pricing of 95
percent of consumer goods and 80 percent
of investment goods had been relaxed.
These prices were regulated mainly through
the relations between market supply and
demand. A socialist market pricing
mechanism is gradually taking shape.
In
the pricing system the irrational state of
basic product prices being too low has
been improved, and the pricing structure
is becoming more rational, step by step.
Comparing 1997 with 1978, the prices of
minerals, raw materials and manufactured
products increased 8.2, 5.2 and 3.3 times
respectively, and their price ratio was
1.7:1:0.6. Besides, the price
scissors in the exchange of industrial
products for agricultural products were
alleviated.
Back
to Top
In 1997, the prices of agricultural
products increased by 5.25 times, compared
with those of 1978, and the prices of
industrial products by 2.95 times, and
their price ratio was 0.6:1. In
accordance with the requirements of the
socialist market economy, China has been
establishing a pricing mechanism
macro-regulated and controlled by the
government, and fixing prices through the
market.
Capital
Market: Since the reform and
opening began, China has continuously
expanded the capital market by improving
the credit and loan mechanism, and
developing stock and state debt markets.
At the beginning of the 1980s, the reform
of the credit and loan mechanism,
beginning with "unified plan,
multi-level control, connection of
deposits with loans, and being responsible
for making up differences" developed
in accordance with the ratio between
assets and debts, and eliminating the
limits for the sizes of loans,
re-discounting, reserve fund rates and
making market business public, thus
standardizing and strengthening the
control and adjustment of the credit and
loan market.
Back
to Top
|
|
Current
account balance:
|
|
$297.1
billion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
1
$426.1
billion (2008 est.)
|
|
|
Exports:
|
|
$1.204
trillion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
2
$1.435
trillion (2008 est.)
|
|
|
Exports -
commodities:
|
|
electrical
and other machinery, including data
processing equipment, apparel, textiles,
iron and steel, optical and medical
equipment
|
|
|
Exports -
partners:
|
|
US 17.7%,
Hong Kong 13.3%, Japan 8.1%, South Korea
5.2%, Germany 4.1% (2008)
|
|
|
Imports:
|
|
$954.3
billion (2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
4
$1.074
trillion (2008 est.)
|
|
|
Imports -
commodities:
|
|
electrical
and other machinery, oil and mineral
fuels, optical and medical equipment,
metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals
|
|
|
Imports -
partners:
|
|
Japan 13.3%,
South Korea 9.9%, Taiwan 9.2%, US 7.2%,
Germany 4.9% (2008)
|
|
|
Reserves
of foreign exchange and gold:
|
|
$2.422
trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
1
$1.953
trillion (31 December 2008 est.)
|
|
|
Debt -
external:
|
|
$347.1
billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
22
$400.6
billion (31 December 2008 est.)
|
|
|
Stock of
direct foreign investment - at home:
|
|
$456.3
billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
10
$378.1
billion (2007 est.)
|
|
|
Stock of
direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
|
$191.8
billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
18
$147.9
billion (31 December 2008 est.)
|
|
|
Exchange
rates:
|
|
Renminbi
yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.8249
(2009), 6.9385 (2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97
(2006), 8.1943 (2005)
|
|
|
Extra
Information
|
|
World
Statistics
|
|
