CHINA: AN IMPORTANT PLAYER
IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
BY TEJINDER S LAMBA*
C
hina is a major economic player in the Global Market
Community. China is the world’s largest manufacturer
and biggest exporter. Hardly any developing economy
comes close to China’s contribution to global growth. The
Chinese economy remains the single largest contributor to
world GDP growth. No matter how you view it, China remains
the world’s major growth engine. China is fast catching up as
a global economic forum, while the public perception around
the world, including India, is that the US still remains at the
top. Though the rise of China to inevitable global leadership
is the most important structural feature of the world economy
in the twenty-fi rst century.
China’s rise in the global economy
China, offi cially the People’s Republic of China, the
most populous country of the world, has the second largest
economy in the world ranked just below the United States. In
the last about four decades, China has consistently developed
a remarkable economic growth. As a result, the country’s
importance has grown the world over. By the size of its
economy and its potential for sustainable economic growth,
China stands today as a political and economic world power
that impacts not only the Asian economy but also the global
one. China is the world’s manufacturing hub, specializing in
the labour-intensive, export-led production of cheap goods
that enabled a gradual increase in product complexity. In a
nutshell, its growth strategy is to assemble and sell cheap
goods to the world.
How is China shaping the global economic order
Along with the review of the economists’ analyses of the
new role and associated challenges, there are also hints that
the Chinese government recognizes the great responsibilities
that come with their new global role. To understand China’s
growth and development objectives in the global trading
system, it is important to emphasize how different the
circumstances are for China and the developed countries.
China has also quickly risen in the global competition in
such fi elds as communication equipment, high-speed railway
equipment, nuclear power equipment, and engineering
machinery.
China is already the leader in providing a vision of
globalization and in taking new initiatives. The shift in
driving forces for development is accelerating. The Chinese
government has introduced a slew of measures to liquidate
some companies with overcapacity and quicken upgrading
42 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 4 • April-May 2019, Noida