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Economic history of China |
| Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (November 2007) |
According to some Western and Indian sources, China was the largest economy on earth for most of the recorded history of the past two millennia.1234
The Financial Times noted that "China has been the world’s largest economy for 18 of the past 20 centuries",56 while according to The Economist, "China was not only the largest economy for much of recorded history, but until the 15th century, it also had the highest income per capita — and was the world’s technological leader."57
As recently as 1820, China accounted for 33% of the world's GDP. Barely a hundred years later, the tables had turned. By the early part of twentieth century, China accounted for only 9% of world's GDP. The primary explanation for the relative eclipse of China lies in the fact that the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, which made Europe and then America rich, almost completely bypassed China. 8
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| This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France. During this period, the territorial domain of the Qing empire expanded substantially. Due to the demand for Chinese products such as porcelain and tea, Qing China was the largest market for Spain's silver exports from her colonies in South America.
China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France. From this time to about the 1800s, the seclusion of China on a world-scale grew to its peak during the Ming Dynasty after the Yung-lo emperor's reign in the 1400s.
India was the world's largest economy followed by China and France.
China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France. Collapse of the central authority of the Mughal Empire and the resultant chaos triggered India's long but slow decline on the world stage.
China was the world's largest economy followed by India and France.
China was the world's largest economy followed by the UK and India. Industrial Revolution in the UK catapulted the nation to the top league of Europe for the first time ever.
China was the world's largest economy followed by the UK, USA and India.
USA was the world's largest economy followed by China, UK, Germany and India. Collapse of the central authority of the Qing Dynasty and the resultant chaos triggered China's short but rapid decline on the world stage. The gross domestic product of China in 1900 was estimated at about 50 per cent that of the USA.
USA was the world's largest economy followed by the UK, China, France, Germany, India and the USSR. The gross domestic product of China in 1925 was estimated at about 20 per cent that of the USA.
USA was the world's largest economy followed by the USSR, UK, China, France, Germany, India and Japan. The gross domestic product of China in 1950 was estimated at about 10 per cent that of the USA.
USA was the world's largest economy followed by the USSR, Japan, Germany and China. The gross domestic product of China in 1975 was estimated at about 10 percent that of the USA. Though Mao's collectivization reforms helped arrest the economic decline, China was no longer the largest Asian economy.
USA was the world's largest economy followed by Japan, Germany and China. The gross domestic product of China in 2000 was estimated at about 10 per cent that of the USA. Communist reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s initiated the current wave of export-oriented economic expansion.
The size of China's economy has been rapidly increasing, though some now question whether the cost has been too great, and whether the economy has 'overheated', with side effects such as pollution and a substantial gap between rich and poor worrying many Chinese. Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, has appeared to share these concerns, stating a desire to measure progress not only through GDP growth, but through social surveys.
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