Accession to WTO

Perhaps the onset of all the subsequent factors into China's growing economy was their accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 11, 2001. China's long-sought entry into the WTO has boosted the overall economic growth and advanced China's legal and government reforms. It has improved the international trade environment and led to a rapid development in China's trade volume.

In 2006, total value of imports and exports reached 969 billion US dollars, up more 25 % over2005. The value of exports was 333 billion US dollars from January through November 2006, according to the World Trade Organization. At the forefront of this burning pace was software exports, which were 800 million dollars in 2006. Over 80% of China exports in 2006 were made up by foreign companies operating in China.

Under WTO's thumb, China has begun to pass laws protecting private ownership and intellectual property. For outsourcing in particular, this is an essential movement a crucial step for outsourcing to take hold. Further, it embraces public/private partnerships and domestic/foreign partnerships.

Foreign Investment

China has attained worldwide success in drawing foreign investment since it first began administering policies to encourage foreign business investment in 1979. Beginning in 1993, China had been the second largest destination (second only to the US) for foreign investment among developing countries for seven consecutive years. However, in 2003 China became the largest recipient of foreign investment with a record 52.7 billion US dollars. In 2006 China received 63.02 billion US dollars in foreign investment according to the China Commerce Ministry.

Consumer Spending

With GDP growth at record-high rates, this has also had a tremendous impact on job creation in the country. This overall increase in employment levels has brought forth the emergence of a more affluent middle-class.

Retail sales rose 13.7% in 2006 to a staggering 979.6 billion US dollars, according to the China National Bureau of Statistics. A major increase in automotive sales is fueling the world's second largest economy, with 7.22 million units sold in 2006, up more than 25% over 2005, according to the China Association if Automobile Manufacturers.

Education

With the emergence of the Chinese middle-class, has come an increased emphasis on education throughout the country-particularly in the fields of science and technology. As China's own domestic market has generated an increasing demand for more (and higher quality) high-tech goods, strategic importance has been given to technical innovation and the training of professionals.

A national innovation system, promoting mass research in the high-tech sector, has gone underway. Starting at the source, the government has gone into their education systems to improve the resources, instruction and rigorousness of their science and technology programs for nationals. China's Central Radio and Television University will play a main role in implementing the plan, making it more feasible than ever for all of China's residents to have access to these programs.