Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Key economic indicators of China - statistics & facts
Over the past four decades, China has experienced enormous economic growth to become the world’s second largest economy based on nominal GDP. During this time, China’s economy transformed from a centrally organized system to an increasingly open, market-oriented entity. However, average per capita GDP in China is still lower than in major developed countries, which indicates that China still has potential for future growth.
Economic development in China
As one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, China maintained an average economic growth rate of over nine percent between 1980 and 2020. During this time, the country’s economy benefitted from its cheap and abundant labor force. Further propelled by its integration into global markets, China came to be known as the workbench of the world.
As labor costs increased over the years and the population aged quickly, China made strong efforts to climb up the value chain. It invested heavily in new technologies and the IT sector with the dedicated goal to transform China into a high-tech superpower. As a result, the share of the industrial sector in total economic output decreased gradually.
In recent years, however, China’s economy has increasingly faced structural difficulties. High indebtedness, limited domestic demand, geopolitical tensions, and strong governmental market interventions put strains on economic development. Annual GDP growth decreased gradually from 10.6 percent in 2010 to 5.0 percent in 2025 and is expected to continue cooling down in the years ahead.
Escalating tensions with the U.S.
China is the world’s largest exporter and second largest importer. Leading trade partners are East and Southeast Asian countries, the European Union, and the United States. China is running a huge trade surplus, which hit a record high of 1.19 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025. In recent years, China has been involved in a trade war with the U.S., the first Trump administration and the Biden administration launching import tariffs, upon which Beijing responded with retaliatory tariffs.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing escalated sharply during the first year of the second Trump administration, when the U.S. government imposed a range of tariffs, bringing the total amount of tariffs on Chinese goods to nearly 130 percent, upon which China responded by raising tariffs on U.S. imports. The amount of tariffs has since been reduced on both sides, but tensions remain between the two rivals. However, economic benefits from cooperation remain strong for both sides, as they have strong trade relations with each other, which may have a considerable balancing effect on the relationship.
