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What has the 30 years' reform and opening up brought to the Chinese people? The most obvious embodiment is that they earn several times as much as they did 30 years ago.
 
On October 27, the relevant authorities of China issued a report, saying that the gross national income (GNI) per capita of China rose from the 190 US dollars in 1978 to the 2,360 US dollars in 2007. According to the criterion made by the World Bank, China has jumped from the low-income country to the one whose people lower middle income.
 
According to the report, the national economy of China has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 30 years. Its comprehensive national strength and international force become larger and larger. Its economic gross took 6% of the world economy while in 1978 the portion was only 1.8%.
 
This year is the 30th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. The report issued by the National Bureau of Statistics had the headline of "Large Reform, Large Opening-up and Large Development". It mainly showed the great accomplishments made in the 30 years' economic and social development in China. In this report, it was attenuated that the Chinese people made the historical shift from suffering hunger and cold to the approach of the overall well-off society. Some great and unprecedented changes have happened or are happening in China.
 
According to the statistics, from 1979 to 2007 the average annual growth rate of GDP of China was 9.8%, much higher than not only its own growth rate of 6.1% from 1953 to 1978, but also 3-percent growth rate of the world economy from 1979 to 2007. When the Japanese economy began to boost after the World War II, its growth rate of GDP was 9.2%, still lower than the one of China.
 
The fast expansion of China's economy has greatly reduced the gab between China and the developed countries in the world. 30 years ago, the GDP of China was only ranked in the 30th place of the world. But in 2007 it climbed up to the fourth place, only behind the USA, Japan and Germany. According to the statistics of the IMF, the GDP of China in 2007 was 3280 billion US dollars, which was equivalent with 23.7% of the US GDP, 74.9% of Japan and 99.5% of Germany in the same year.
 
The ratio of the total volume of imports and exports to the GDP in China has risen from the 9.7% in 1978 to the 66.8% in 2007, increased by 57.1 percents. In 1978, China's total volume of imports and exports was only ranked in the 29th place, while in 2007 it climbed to the Top 3 of the ranking, only behind the USA and Germany. The ratio of China imports and exports to the total sum of world trade increased from 0.8% to 7.7%.
 
Continuous increase has also been occurring to the utilization of the foreign capital in China. From 1979 to 2007, the actual amount of foreign capital directly utilized in China was 760.2 billion US dollars, which means 26.2 billion US dollars per year. Since 2002, China has always been ranked in Top 3 of the world in the utilization of the foreign capital. In 2007, the actual amount of foreign capital directly utilized in China was 74.8 billion US dollars. By the end of 2007, 30% of the gross value of large scale industrial output in China, as well as half of the total volume of imports and exports, were derived from the foreign-funded enterprises.
 
China's investment in foreign countries also made fast development from zero. The amounts of foreign direct investment of China (non-financial part) were respectively 2.9 billion US dollars, 5.5 billion US dollars, 12.3 billion US dollars, 17.6 billion US dollars and 18.7 billion US dollars in the 5 years from 2003 to 2007. In 2007 the amount of foreign economic cooperation contract of China reached 85.3 billion US dollars, 37.6 times of that of 1989 and the turnover was 47.9 billion US dollars, 27.4 times of 1989.
 
At the same time, the ratio of urban population to the total has been increasing year by year. The level of urbanization increased from the 17.9% in 1978 to the 44.9% in 2007, up by 27 percents or 0.9 percents every year. The total number of urban population of China made an increase of 14.53 million each year while the rural population had a yearly decrease of 2.16 million.
 
Problems Still Exist
 
The report also pointed out that China now still had a lot of problems, including the incomplete market economy system, structure contradictions and lack of changes in the extensive development pattern. Furthermore, the problems, such as the relatively weak agricultural foundation, a large number of rural and urban poor or low-income residence and the more and more complicated international situation, still haunt China.
 
Justin Yifu Lin, Deputy Director and Chief Economist of the World Bank said on October 25 that the achievements made by China in the 30 years' reform and opening up could be called a miracle. However, the development pattern of China is not so easy for other developing countries to copy. In the establishment ceremony of the National Development Research Institute, Beijing University, Justin Yifu Lin said that at present the financial crisis would had limited influence on the Chinese market. Compared with other countries, China's economic situation is the most optimistic and the safest.
 
From 381 to 18934
 
The GDP per capita of China in 1978 was RMB 381 Yuan (USD 54.4); in 1987 it was 1112 Yuan (USD 158.9); in 1992 it was 2311 Yuan (USD 330.1); in 2003 it was 10,542 Yuan (USD 1506) and in 2007 it increased to 18934 Yuan (USD 2704.9). Regardless of the factor of price, the GDP per capita in China in 2007 was 10 times of that in 1978. The average yearly growth rate was 8.6%.
 
Another data can show the fast growth of China's gross economy. The GDP of China rose from the 364.5 billion Yuan (USD 52.1 billion) in 1978 to the 24,953 billion Yuan (USD 3564.7 billion) in 2007. It took China 8 years to grow its GDP from 364.5 billion Yuan (USD 52.1 billion) to 1,000 billion Yuan (USD 142.9 billion). Then it spent 5 years in making an increase of 1,000 billion Yuan (USD 142.9 billion). In 2007 China's GPD increased by 3,760 billion Yuan (USD 537.1 billion) compared with the year of 2006.
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