Trade and investment opportunities in China

Tag: Chinese groundnuts

Since its winning of the Olympic bids for 2008, World Expo 2010 and accession to the WTO, companies, both local and foreign are itching their way into Chinese markets, either looking for business opportunities or to expand their business operation in China.

China has been the fastest-growing nation for the past quarter of a century with an average annual GDP growth rate in excess of 10%. Per capita income has grown at an average annual rate of more than 8% over the last three decades. China saw its export and import volume in service trade (excluding government service) stood at US$ 250.91 billion in 2007,an increase of over 30% from the previous year as according to its the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) report in June 2008.

China as the second largest economy in the world after the US, with a GDP of over US$7 trillion (2007) when measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. In November 2007, it became the third largest in the world after the US and Japan with a nominal GDP of US$3.42 trillion in 2007 when measured in foreign exchange-rate terms.

China is the world's largest producer of rice and is among the principal sources of corn (maize), wheat, soybeans, peanuts (groundnuts), cotton and tobacco. China is one of the world's largest producers of several industrial and mineral products, including cotton cloth,cotton yarn, antimony,tungsten,crude oil, coal and other products.

China's mineral resources are probably among the richest in the world but are only partially developed. China has acquired some highly sophisticated production facilities through trade and also has built several advanced engineering plants capable of manufacturing an increasing range of sophisticated defense and power technologies.