What will China offer to the world next?
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As the U.S. is under criticism for threatening nations' economic stability by flooding money into the global market, China is preparing its own gift to the world economic recovery-its large market.
Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley's non-executive chairman of Asia, said earlier this month that the next five years would be a crucial period for China. The 12th Five-Year Plan would be a turning point for China's economic development as well as the world's.
China, with a population of 1.3 billion, is moving quickly on the track of urbanization, which stood at 46.6 percent at the end of last year. The room for expansion promises a huge potential in domestic demand.
"The transformation of China's economic growth pattern would make China more sustainable, which is desirable for the world," said Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times.
Further, it will make China the "dominant source of world demand growth over the next 20 to 30 years", and China would "increasingly become an engine of world demand and growth," Wolf said.
Many foreign enterprises have tasted the joy of doing businesses in China and looked to the market as the main source of business growth in the future as the country's fast economic growth and opening up have brought enormous profits. Others remain keen to tap into the market for a slice of the cake.
China grew to replace the U.S. as the world's largest auto market last year, even as the financial crisis continued to sting. For BMW, China has proven a crucial driver to strong sales in the third quarter this year, with sales surging 91 percent in China, compared with a 9 percent rise in the U.S.
Also, U.S. clothing retailer, the Gap, opened its first mainland store recently. Its entry into the Chinese market was part of a larger international expansion, John Ermatinger, Gap's Asia Pacific president said, according to a news report of Reuters.
"China has a long runway and bright future, a growing middle class that is going to keep growing and a love of brands," John Ermatinger said, referring to China's growth potential.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development issued a report in September saying China remained the most popular destination for foreign direct investment in the world, and likely would remain so during the next two years.
Further, it said the number of foreign companies increased by more than 14,400 during the first seven months of 2010, up 17.9 percent year on year.
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