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Caution over No. 2 status
By Wu Liming and Ye Shuhong |
August 5, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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A DEPUTY governor of China's central bank recently unveiled a major economic milestone in a rather casual manner.
"China is already the world's second-largest economy," Yi Gang, also head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said in an interview posted on the SAFE Website last Friday.
Of course, becoming No. 2 in the world is a milestone earned after decades of hard work by the Chinese people.
However, it is important to ask ourselves what it really means to become the "world's No. 2 economy," and then it's important to stay cool. After all, China's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) is still far behind that of many other countries including Japan.
According to the World Bank, China's per capita GDP was a bit more than US$3,600 in 2009, ranking 124th worldwide, whereas Japan's per-capita GDP amounted to over US$39,000.
Indeed, China's current per capita GDP is equal to only that of Japan in 1973, which was at around US$3,800.
Analysts forecast it would be not until 2050 that China's per capita GDP reaches the 2009 level of the per capita GDP of developed countries.
In short, China has a long way to go. "China is still a developing country, and we should be wise enough to know ourselves," Yi said.
With an economic structure far from perfect, China faces numerous challenges, such as how to balance its development. China is behind Japan in the process of economic development.
The shares of agricultural, industrial and service industries in Japan's overall economic pie stand at 2 percent, 30 percent and 69 percent, respectively. That compares with China's 12 percent, 48 percent and 40 percent. Japan draws its strength from high-tech and high value-added industries, whereas many of China's industries are labor intensive.
Gross national product (GNP) can often be a better gauge of the overall economic strength of a nation.
Statistics show that China's GNP was around US$4,129 billion, while that of Japan was more than US$5,751 billion. China is even farther behind in per capita GNP.
China should also beware of the pressure on China for unprecedented responsibilities advanced by certain media and politicians. By exaggerating China's rise, some are attempting to stir up the concerns or even hostility of neighboring countries against China.
(The authors are Xinhua writers.)
"China is already the world's second-largest economy," Yi Gang, also head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), said in an interview posted on the SAFE Website last Friday.
Of course, becoming No. 2 in the world is a milestone earned after decades of hard work by the Chinese people.
However, it is important to ask ourselves what it really means to become the "world's No. 2 economy," and then it's important to stay cool. After all, China's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) is still far behind that of many other countries including Japan.
According to the World Bank, China's per capita GDP was a bit more than US$3,600 in 2009, ranking 124th worldwide, whereas Japan's per-capita GDP amounted to over US$39,000.
Indeed, China's current per capita GDP is equal to only that of Japan in 1973, which was at around US$3,800.
Analysts forecast it would be not until 2050 that China's per capita GDP reaches the 2009 level of the per capita GDP of developed countries.
In short, China has a long way to go. "China is still a developing country, and we should be wise enough to know ourselves," Yi said.
With an economic structure far from perfect, China faces numerous challenges, such as how to balance its development. China is behind Japan in the process of economic development.
The shares of agricultural, industrial and service industries in Japan's overall economic pie stand at 2 percent, 30 percent and 69 percent, respectively. That compares with China's 12 percent, 48 percent and 40 percent. Japan draws its strength from high-tech and high value-added industries, whereas many of China's industries are labor intensive.
Gross national product (GNP) can often be a better gauge of the overall economic strength of a nation.
Statistics show that China's GNP was around US$4,129 billion, while that of Japan was more than US$5,751 billion. China is even farther behind in per capita GNP.
China should also beware of the pressure on China for unprecedented responsibilities advanced by certain media and politicians. By exaggerating China's rise, some are attempting to stir up the concerns or even hostility of neighboring countries against China.
(The authors are Xinhua writers.)
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