The Chinese economy has immensely transformed in just the last 20 or 30 years. From being one of the most impoverished nations in the world to becoming the world’s second-largest economy, a lot has happened in China.
It is true that the government remains to be the chief central planner, controlling a host of sectors and imposing a wide array of regulations. That said, it has still embraced a free enterprise system and a market economy, allowing the country to prosper.
Has this helped the Chinese population?
Here is a chart:
Share of the Chinese population living in extreme poverty
1981: Almost all (88%)
2013: Almost no one (2%)[In our entry you can read about how extreme poverty is defined and measured. And how it changed around the world and why: https://t.co/KXFZaDuRPo] pic.twitter.com/Sl6w2nn3Q3
— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) April 26, 2018
Simply put: 30 years ago, China had mostly everyone in extreme poverty. 30 years later, almost no one is in extreme poverty.
The central planners in China have learned to let competition and free enterprise flourish. China has also seen the evil of monopolistic intellectual property rights that hold a nation back from progress. China is not subject to U.S. copyright and patent laws and does not steal when it partners with foreign corporations.