The People's Republic of China (PRC) has a developing mixed socialist market economy, incorporating industrial policies and strategic five-year plans. China has the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and since 2016 has been the world's largest economy when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). China accounted for 19% of the global economy in 2022 in PPP terms, and around 18% in nominal terms in 2022. The economy consists of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and mixed-ownership enterprises, as well as a large domestic private sector which contribute approximately 60% of the GDP, 80% of urban employment and 90% of new jobs.
China is the world's largest manufacturing industrial economy and exporter of goods. China is widely regarded as the "powerhouse of manufacturing", "the factory of the world" and the world's "manufacturing superpower". Its production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined. However, exports as a percentage of GDP have steadily dropped to just around 20%, reflecting its decreasing importance to the Chinese economy. Nevertheless, it remains the largest trading nation in the world and plays a prominent role in international trade. Manufacturing has been transitioning toward high-tech industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, telecommunications and IT equipment, and services has also grown as a percentage of GDP. However, recent research indicates that China’s Total factor productivity (TFP) growth has slowed significantly. IMF estimates show that TFP growth declined from approximately 3.7% in the 2000s to around 1.9% during 2010–2019. Structural reforms and technological progress in manufacturing between 2010 and 2020 contributed only modestly to productivity gains. Additionally, a 2024–2025 IMF working paper finds that factor misallocation resulting from industrial and regulatory policies implemented since the early 2010s reduces China’s aggregate TFP by roughly 1.2% annually. IMF research suggests that while China’s state-led push for high-tech self-reliance since 2013 has supported rapid innovation, it has been accompanied by efficiency losses. Policy measures, including targeted state subsidies appear to favor politically connected firms, crowd out competition, and lead to overcapacity, undermining overall productivity. China is the world's largest high technology exporter. As of 2023, the country spends around 2.6% of GDP to advance research and development across various sectors of the economy. It is also the world's second-largest importer of goods. China is a net importer of services products.
China has a network of free trade agreements with several countries, though Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) accounts for the bulk of its trade integration. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 142 are headquartered in China. It has three of the world's top ten most competitive financial centers and three of the world's ten largest stock exchanges (both by market capitalization and by trade volume). China has the second-largest financial assets in the world, valued at $17.9 trillion as of 2021. China was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world as of 2020, receiving inflows of $163 billion. but more recently, inbound FDI has fallen sharply to negative levels. It has the third largest outbound FDI, at US$192.20 billion for 2024. China's economic growth is stagnating in the 2020s as it deals with a range of challenges from a rapidly aging population, higher youth unemployment and a property crisis.
With 773 million workers, the Chinese labor force is the world's largest as of 2024, although it's shrinking rapidly due to the rapidly aging population. As of 2025, China was second in the world in total number of billionaires, although this number has been falling since its peak around 2020, and second in millionaires with 4.1 million according to Statista. Public social expenditure in China was around 10% of GDP.
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