China's transformation into a global superpowerChina is the world's most populous nation located in East Asia. Chia stands out as the second largest nation in the world in terms of land area. The analysis by Yan, Wang, and Yao (98) classifies China as one of the rapidly developing countries, enjoying a stable economy driven by the rapid wave of civilization, industrialization, and technological progress. The current People's Republic of China is among the countries with the highest gross development product. China also benefits from the fastest growing middle class. The paper examines China's economic development over the years, a factor that led to its development and transformation into a global superpower. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The history of China's current economic situation dates back to the early 1900s (Cheung 12). At that time, China was one of the underdeveloped countries that suffered from poor economic conditions. During these years, GDP was low and most of the population was unemployed. The few industries that existed were state-owned, with central control over financial systems and planning. There are no small technological advances that have reduced the productivity of the industrial sector. The economy suffered from limited resources in terms of skills and capital. For example, in 1978, 25 percent of China's GNP was reinvested in the manufacturing sector, yielding an approximate return of US$111 billion. Compared to the same year, 16 percent of US GNP was reinvested to generate approximately $345.6 billion in revenue. The fact that the income of $111 billion served a population 4.5 times larger than that of the United States, served by an income of $345.6 billion, gives a clear picture of China's economic situation (Cannon 63). used in industries were imported. There have been gradual technological advances, with most production sectors using outdated equipment. A good example is the agricultural sector, which has received a relatively small share of national investment. The agricultural sector relied heavily on human and animal labor, with little mechanization from imported pumps and tractors. The development was well below national standards of the time. There were no international markets for these products due to poor infrastructure. Local markets were not important since their basic customers were industrial workers who, on the other hand, suffered from low wages. The greatest challenge to China's economic growth between 1800 and 1990 was high population growth that outpaced production levels. The rate of consumption was relatively higher than the rate of production, especially in agriculture. The small surplus undermined investment and productivity per worker remained low (Kennedy 67). According to Naughton (78), the turning point in China's economic situation from bad to better dates back to 1978. Deng Xiaoping's leadership which began after the death of Mao Zedong and changed the leadership structure and reshaped the entire Chinese economy. Under his leadership, Deng Xiaoping pushed for reforms in the production sector that laid the foundation for the country's current economic development. These reforms were based on four modernizations in the areas of agriculture, science and technology,defense and industry. The reforms led to reduced government control over the economy. This attracted the emergence of private companies. Collective farms were dismantled and individualized to increase production. China is now open to international markets and the government encourages entrepreneurship. China's membership in the International Monitoring Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in 1980 laid an important foundation for capital in the production and business sector (Cheung 27). When Jiang Zemin took over as president of China in 1990, other major reforms were implemented. Among them, the privatization of most public companies. This has expanded the role of the private sector in building the economy through job creation and better remuneration for its employees to increase productivity per worker. During the same year 1990, trade barriers such as heavy taxes were reduced. State planning in the industrial sector was abolished. Taxes were revised in favor of banks, which provided more capital at low interest rates to the business and production sector (Cheung62). Joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 was a major step in economic development. This further exposed China to international markets, opening the way for investors and new opportunities outside the country. During these years, China experienced enormous economic progress, without any taxation on the agricultural sector. The country benefits from booming exports, large-scale manufacturing and massive investment (Naughton pp.87-99). Since the 1978 reforms, the nation has experienced gradual economic growth, moving from ninth place in terms of nominal gross domestic product to second place in terms of nominal gross domestic product. world, with an estimate of 9.2 trillion dollars. The secondary sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, recorded the highest contribution to China's GDP until 2013, when the tertiary sector including manufacturing accounted for the largest share of GDP. This change has been associated with the aspect of modernization, where the manufacturing sector has gained popularity through the adoption of technology. Electronics and machinery account for the largest share of China's exports, contributing 55% of export earnings. China has the largest share of international markets (Cannon 120). Due to its massive industrialization and increasing business opportunities in China, the nation records the largest number of working people in the world - 770.4 million people. However, more than 90% of them were classified as middle class by Lin, Justin, Fang, and Zhou (25). The working class has adopted the middle path trend. This has been associated with two factors, one being the larger population living in rural areas. The other key factor is rapid economic growth. In any growing economy, wealth depends much more on capital than on labor. Even though China's economy is providing jobs to more of its population, rising living standards don't give workers a chance to accumulate wealth. As the country enjoys the fastest growing economy, there is concern that the middle class will expand in the coming years, which will generally reduce the purchasing power and income of local markets (Farrell, Diana, Ulrich and Elizabeth 124). In 2013, China made further economic progress, which created a perception of China as a global superpower (Wu 146). The Asian Bank..