WTO贸易政策审议秘书处报告第二部分.docVIP

Economic environment Chinas Trade And Development Policies Since 1978, China has pursued a strategy of gradual transition from a centrally planned to a market-based economy coupled with an open door policy that has involved substantial liberalization of its international trade and investment regimes. This strategy has delivered sustained and rapid real economic growth averaging about 10% annually between 1978 and 2008, and has seen GDP per capita increase fifteen-fold from around US$220 to US$3,400. Economic reforms began in the agriculture sector. Linking remuneration to output and granting autonomy to farming households produced large increases in agricultural productivity, which has allowed China to liberalize agricultural imports considerably and still compete effectively with overseas producers. During this process exposure to international trade has improved agricultural productivity further. The reform also freed surplus labour from agricultural activities, which has been a source of productivity increases in other sectors of the economy. Trade and investment liberalization played an important role in extending Chinas reform programme to the manufacturing sector. Special economic zones (SEZs) were separated from the rest of the predominantly state-controlled economy and largely freed from import and export restrictions. These attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufactured export processing, provided China with access to imported technology and overseas marketing networks, and created new job opportunities and training for Chinas labour force. The SEZs were expanded to other kinds of zones specialized in high technologies, free-trade zones, and bonded areas to encourage processing trade. Processing trade now accounts for around 40% of China’s total international trade (imports and exports). Foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) were attracted to invest in the zones also by favourable tax incentives, although these incentives are being phase