WHY CHINA?

China has undergone immense economic and social development over the last 25 years.  During that time it has managed to lift 300 million people out of poverty; with adjustments for population size, the equivalent process took over 200 years in Europe.  It is now the world’s largest and fastest-growing economy and is undergoing what some have termed a second industrial revolution … after all, building construction in Shanghai is so quick that new maps of the city have to be printed every two weeks!  Did you know that since being awarded the Olympics, China has built enough new roads to go round the world four times?

During the 1980s, China dismantled collective farming and again allowed and even encouraged private enterprise.  It is now attracting record amounts of foreign investment and is itself investing billions of dollars overseas.  As one of the world’s largest exporters, China produces 50% of the world’s computers, 80% of the world’s photocopiers, 60% of our mobile phones and 40% of the world’s microwave ovens.  In addition to that, 50% of the world’s clothes and footwear are made in China.

Social development in China has been no less marked.  Economic development has encouraged mass migration to the cities, whose skylines are dominated by skyscrapers and whose shops are filled with Western brands.  There are now an estimated 90 million Internet users in China, which makes Chinese speakers the largest group of electronically active people on the planet. 

click here to hear and see the fellows' own impressions of 'why China...?'