China has achieved an average growth rate of over 9% pa since 1978 – the year that effectively was the start of the market based reforms in the Chinese economy

Rapid, sustained growth in China has lifted over 700 million people (or one-tenth of the world's population) out of extreme poverty

All of the Millennium Development Goals have been reached or are within reach

Growth in China is now slowing down and a lower target rate of growth of 7% has been set

Capital investment (I) and exports (X) have been the foundations for Chinese growth and development but the Chinese economy has now reached an important turning point.

For growth to be sustained China needs to achieve are-balancing of her economy

Relying less on exports of low to medium value manufactured products and moving up value chains to produce and sell products with a high-knowledge and high-technology component

Driving more growth from household spending (consumption) on goods and services

Sustainability has become an essential part of China's development strategy

Addressing the pressures that come from rising inequalities of income and wealth.

Success in improving sustainability through low carbon innovation and other technological breakthroughs can provide China with new sources of external demand as Chinese businesses export products and licence technology in green industries

China remains a Communist state dominated by the Chinese Communist Party but it is also an increasingly open economy where trade accounts for over seventy per cent of GDP

In 2000, China's accounted for 7.1% of the world's total GDP (in PPP terms)

By 2015 China will have a 19% share of global GDP - higher than any of the other BRIC nations

Per capita incomesare rising though still low by advanced-nation levels

The share of GDP (by valued-added) from Chinese industry has been close to 50% for more than 30 years, but since 1980 the share contributed by service industries grown from 30% to 43%. This is below the norm in advanced countries where services account for more than 70% of GDP.

Agriculture's share of Chinese GDP has fallen from 30% of GDP in 1980 to less than 10% in 2009. There has also been a mass movement of millions of people away from rural areas into urban centres of population but agriculture still accounts for around 40% of total employment

The latest Economic Plan is centred on developing the services sector, increasing urbanization and improving incomes – there are big opportunities here for UK service multinationals