China

The economy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the second economy in the world after the United States in terms of nominal GDP, the first in terms of GDP at purchasing power parity, a representative of the East Asian model of economic development. By the end of 2021, China's GDP reached 114.92 trillion RMB (16.52 trillion US dollars), an increase of 8.4% compared to the previous year.

The Chinese economy has been growing steadily over the past 30 years. China accounts for about half of the world's steel, aluminum and cement production. It is the world's leader in the extraction of coal, manganese, lead-zinc, antimony and tungsten ores. Oil and gas production is also carried out on a significant scale on the territory of the People's Republic of China. China holds 37% of the world's reserves of rare earth metals; as a result of significant investments in the extraction of these minerals in the 1980s, China now owns 90% of their global production.

China has half of the world's currency reserves. By 2014, China had significantly reduced the rate of accumulation of US dollars in its reserves and reduced the rate of reserve buildup, significantly increasing investments worldwide.

In 2020, there were more than 4,000 banking institutions in China: 6 large banks under state control, 12 joint-stock banks, 133 urban commercial banks, 19 private and 42 branches of foreign banks, the rest were rural banks and credit cooperatives. In 2023, the volume of assets of financial institutions in the Chinese banking sector increased by 9.9% year-on-year and reached 417.3 trillion RMB (58.7 trillion US dollars).

There are two main stock exchanges in China: Shanghai and Shenzhen (Hong Kong is considered foreign). At the end of 2020, shares of 4,154 companies were listed on these two exchanges, with a market capitalization of 79.65 trillion RMB ($12.2 trillion).

According to estimates for 2018, agricultural land occupied 54.7% of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The main agricultural regions are the east and south of the country, primarily the Great Chinese Plain and river valleys. Agriculture is based on 200 million small family farms with an average area of about 1.5 hectares; the land is state property, the plots are leased by farmers for a period of 30-50 years. Slightly less than half of China's population is employed in the agricultural sector.

China accounts for about a quarter of the world's grain harvest, averaging 660 million tons per year. China ranks first in the world in the production of cereals, cotton, fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, eggs and fish. In 2019, the main crops of the harvest were corn (261 million tons), rice (210 million tons), wheat (134 million tons), sugar cane (109 million tons), root crops (potatoes, sweet potatoes, 29 million tons), legumes (21 million tons), peanuts (18 million tons), rapeseed (13 million tons), sugar beet (12 million tons), cotton (6 million tons). Barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, rye, sorghum, and soybeans are also grown. Vegetables are dominated by cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, while fruits include watermelons, apples, citrus fruits, bananas and mangoes (totaling 274 million tons in 2019). Tobacco leaf harvest in 2019 amounted to 2.2 million tons.

Tea has traditionally been one of China's most important exports. The production of tea leaves in the country increased from 683 thousand tons in 2000 to 2.97 million tons in 2020. Tea exports in 2020 brought in more than $2 billion (1st place in the world). China remains a monopoly on silk, China accounts for 78% of its global production (150,000 tons per year).

Meat production in China in 2019 amounted to 77.6 million tons (of which 42.6 million tons were pork), milk — 33 million tons, eggs — also 33 million tons, seafood — 64.8 million tons (approximately equally marine and freshwater). China occupies a leading place in the world in catching and breeding fish. Fishing is conducted mainly in the adjacent waters of the Pacific Ocean. Aquaculture already exceeded the catch in terms of production in the early 1990s.

Few forests have been preserved in China, and attempts are being made to restore them with plantations. By the end of 2022, the gross output of China's timber industry reached 8.04 trillion RMB (1.10 trillion US dollars); the volume of trade in wood products exceeded 180 billion US dollars. China ranks first in the world in imports of wood pulp, untreated wood and lumber, as well as in exports of furniture, laminated panel products and floor coverings. China has become the world's largest country in terms of production, trade and consumption of wood products. As of 2023, there were 677 leading timber businesses in China. The number of people employed in the timber industry of the PRC was 60 million.

By the end of 2022, cotton production amounted to 5.98 million tons, an increase of 4.3% year-on-year; cotton yield per hectare increased by 5.3% to 1992.2 kg; the total area of the country's cotton fields decreased by 0.9% compared to 2021 and amounted to about 3 million hectares. Xinjiang accounted for 90.2% of the country's total cotton production.

China has been leading the world in potato production for many years, accounting for a quarter of the total global gross harvest of this crop. As of 2023, the total area of potato planting in China was about 4.6 million hectares, with an annual production volume of almost 90 million tons.

Of the mineral resources, coal, oil and gas, rare earth elements, and tungsten are of the greatest importance. China accounts for more than half of the world's production of raw materials for cement production, primarily limestone.

Coal is the main source of energy in China, accounting for 70% of the country's energy balance. In this regard, China was little exposed to global fluctuations in energy prices, implementing a strategy of self-sufficiency.

China's coal industry is fragmented: the three largest state-owned companies account for only 15% of national coal production. Coal reserves are estimated at 167 billion tons, it is mined in all provinces, but the main centers are Shanxi provinces (up to 50% of all reserves), Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin, Hebei, Shandong and Inner Mongolia.

The largest oil field in China is Daqing in the northeast of the country. There are large deposits in the northwest (Tarim oil and gas basin, Karamai), as well as in the provinces of Sichuan, Shandong and Henan. Shale oil is available in Liaoning and Fushun provinces. Offshore oil production is conducted in the Bohai Bay and other adjacent waters. Despite the relatively high level of oil production, China is one of its largest importers.

China's proven oil reserves in 2018 amounted to 25.63 billion barrels (12th in the world). China ranks seventh in the world in terms of oil production (3.77 million barrels per day), and second in terms of imports (6.71 million barrels per day).

In terms of proven natural gas reserves, China ranks 9th in the world (5.44 trillion m3), and 6th in terms of production (146 billion m3). China ranks third in the world both in terms of consumption (238.6 billion m3) and gas imports (97.6 billion m3).

Iron ore reserves are quite significant, but mostly with a low iron content. Reserves of bauxite (aluminum ore) and copper ore are limited, and reserves of nickel, chromium and cobalt are insignificant.

China accounts for about 90% of the world's production of rare earth elements, their reserves are estimated at 760 thousand tons. Mining is concentrated in Jiangxi Province and Inner Mongolia (Bayan Obo). China accounts for about half of the world's tungsten reserves, and it confidently ranks first in its production (69 thousand tons in 2020). It is also a leader in the production of metals and minerals such as barite, vanadium, bismuth, wollastonite, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, cadmium, silicon, magnesium, molybdenum, arsenic, tin, mercury, lead, selenium, sulfur, antimony, tellurium, fluorite.

Electricity production in 2018 was 7.17 trillion kWh (in 2020 — 7.5 trillion kWh), of which 5.1 trillion kWh in thermal power plants, of 1.23 trillion kWh — hydroelectric power plants, 366 billion kWh from wind and 294 billion kWh — atomic. The largest consumers of electricity were industry (4.91 trillion kWh) and households (1 trillion kWh).

In 2019, there were 378 thousand businesses in China, of which 354 thousand were engaged in industrial production, 14 thousand in energy and utilities, 10 thousand in the mining industry. The assets of businesses totaled 120.6 trillion RMB, of which 56.9 trillion were accounted for by large scale businesses. In total, 79.3 million people are employed.

The total revenue of businesses in 2019 amounted to 106.7 trillion RMB, by industries it was distributed as follows: computer technology production (11.2 trillion), automotive industry (8 trillion), heavy machinery (7 trillion), iron ore processing (7 trillion), energy (6.8 trillion), chemicals production (6.6 trillion), production of electrical equipment (6.5 trillion), processing of non-metallic mineral raw materials (5.6 trillion), processing of non-ferrous metals (5.4 trillion), oil refining (4.9 trillion), processing of agricultural products (4.7 trillion), production of metal products (3.7 trillion), production of synthetic fibers and rubber (2.6 trillion), textile industry (2.5 trillion), pharmaceuticals (2.4 trillion), coal mining (2.2 trillion), food production (2 trillion), beverage production (1.5 trillion), railway and air transport (1.5 trillion), paper production (1.3 trillion), production of leather and fur products (1.2 trillion), tobacco industry (1.1 trillion).

By the end of 2022, the country's total exports and imports of services amounted to 5.98 trillion RMB (884.29 billion US dollars), an increase of 12.9% year-on-year. Exports of services increased by 12.1% year-on-year to 2.85 trillion RMB, while imports amounted to 3.13 trillion RMB, an increase of 13.5% year-on-year. The volume of trade in knowledge-intensive services amounted to 2.51 trillion RMB, an increase of 7.8% year-on-year. The volume of trade in the tourism services sector increased by 8.4% year-on-year, amounting to 855.98 billion RMB.

The tourism industry in China is a highly developed branch of the economy and has been developing rapidly in recent decades. In terms of the number of tourists visiting the country, China ranks 4th in the world.

China is the world's largest exporter, exporting almost as many goods as the second and third—place USA and Germany combined: China is the main trading partner for 124 countries (the USA is only for 56). About 10% of goods are exported to Hong Kong for subsequent re-export, formally Hong Kong is the second largest importer from China (after the United States). In 2019, the volume of exports from China amounted to 2.5 trillion dollars, imports — 2.08 trillion dollars.

The largest exports were: electrical equipment (357 billion), audio- and video equipment (306 billion), office equipment (200 billion), industrial equipment (185 billion), chemicals (plastics, organic and inorganic reagents, fertilizers, 162 billion), haberdashery (152 billion), fabrics and clothing (120 billion), ground vehicles (79 billion), furniture (64 billion), measuring equipment (55 billion), steel products (55 billion), shoes (48 billion), construction components (44 billion), oil and petroleum products (41 billion), electric generators (40 billion), suitcases and bags (27 billion), vegetables and fruits (25 billion), rubber products (21 billion), cardboard and paper products (21 billion), seafood (20 billion), photographic equipment, optics and watches (18 billion), wooden products (13 billion).

Main import items: electrical equipment (427 billion), oil and petroleum products (271 billion), chemicals, including plastics, organic and inorganic reagents, fertilizers (219 billion), ore and scrap metal (177 billion), industrial equipment (115 billion), ground vehicles (75 billion), measuring equipment (75 billion), audio- and video equipment (65 billion), office equipment (57 billion), natural gas (52 billion), non-ferrous metals (49 billion), vegetable oils (38 billion), steel (25 billion), electric generators (25 billion), coal (24 billion), wood (21 billion), photographic equipment, optics and watches (20 billion), waste paper (19 billion), meat and meat products (19 billion), seafood (16 billion), fabrics and clothing (16 billion), vegetables and fruits (15 billion), rubber (10 billion).

Goods are exported to countries such as the USA (419 billion), Japan (143 billion), the Republic of Korea (111 billion), Vietnam (98 billion), Germany (80 billion), India (75 billion), the Netherlands (74 billion), the United Kingdom (62 billion), Singapore (55 billion), Taiwan (55 billion), Malaysia (52 billion), Russia (50 billion), Australia (48 billion), Indonesia (46 billion), Thailand (46 billion), Mexico (46 billion), Philippines (41 billion), Canada (37 billion), Brazil (36 billion), Italy (34 billion), UAE (33 billion), France (33 billion), Spain (27 billion), Poland (24 billion), Saudi Arabia (24 billion), Belgium (18 billion), Bangladesh (17 billion), Turkey (17 billion), Nigeria (17 billion), South Africa (17 billion), Pakistan (16 billion), Chile (15 billion), Kazakhstan (13 billion), Czech Republic (13 billion), Egypt (12 billion), Myanmar (12 billion), Iran (10 billion).

The main suppliers of imports to China are: the Republic of Korea (174 billion), Taiwan (173 billion), Japan (172 billion), the United States (123 billion), Australia (121 billion), Germany (105 billion), Brazil (80 billion), Malaysia (72 billion), Vietnam (64 billion), Russia (61 billion), Saudi Arabia (54 billion), Thailand (46 billion), Singapore (35 billion), Indonesia (34 billion), France (33 billion), Canada (28 billion), Switzerland (27 billion), Chile (26 billion), South Africa (26 billion), Great Britain (24 billion), Iraq (24 billion), Angola (24 billion), Italy (21 billion), Oman (20 billion), Philippines (20 billion), India (18 billion), UAE (15 billion), Peru (15 billion), Mexico (14 billion), Iran (13 billion), Kuwait (13 billion), Ireland (13 billion), New Zealand (13 billion), the Netherlands (11 billion).