L1-China&39;s Economic Conditions(9)

IB9801401-12-06

Table 3. Major Foreign Investors in China: 1979-2004

($ billions and % of total)

Cumulative Utilized FDI:

1979-2004

CountryTotalHong KongUnited StatesJapan

British Virgin IslandsSouth Korea

Amount($ billions)

563.8241.648.046.836.925.9

% of Total

100.042.98.58.37.06.54.6

Utilized FDI in 2004Amount($ billions)

64.019.03.95.53.16.76.2

% of Total

100.029.76.18.64.810.59.7

Source: Chinese government statistics. Top six investors according to cumulative FDI from 1979 to 2004.

China’s Trade Patterns

Economic reforms have transferred China into a major trading power. Chinese exportsrose from $14 billion in 1979 to $762 billion in 2005, while imports over this period grewfrom $16 billion to $660 billion (see Table 4). In 2004, China surpassed Japan as theworld’s third-largest trading economy (after the United States and Germany). China’s tradecontinues to grow dramatically: From 2002 to 2005, the size of China’s exports and importsmore than doubled. In 2005, exports and imports rose by 28.4% and 17.6%, respectively.China’s trade surplus, which totaled $32 billion in 2004, tripled to $102 billion.

Table 4. China’s Merchandise World Trade, 1979-2005

($ billions)

Year1979198019811982198319841985198619871988

Exports

13.718.121.521.922.124.827.331.439.447.6

Imports

15.719.521.618.921.326.042.543.243.255.3

Tradebalance

-2.0-1.4-0.12.90.8-1.1-15.3-11.9-3.8-7.7