The Rise of China in the Age of Globalization ——A speech delivered by Prof. Robert Mundell from Columbia University

Thank you very much for the wonderful welcome! I’m delighted to be here, and I’m very happy to become an honorary professor of Zhengzhou University. I attended this morning the Expo Central China 2007, and it has been a wonderful thing to see this exposition in Henan Province and Central China. And I think it’s a wonderful experience for me to come and talk to you about something that I work on day in, and day out in economics.

China, as you know, has been one of the high points of the world economy. One of the most important facts of modern world history is the growth of China, and the movement of China from a relatively poor and backward country to a much more modern country—a rapidly growing economy that is integrating into the world economy at a rapid pace. It is surprising you have had thirty years of an average annual growth of 9%. And I might say, for the past four years, there has been a two-digit yearly growth, that is, more than 10%.

This is a remarkable achievement. China’s exports, in the beginning of the modernization era — the Deng Xiaoping era, in 1978, took up only 1-2% of the world economy, now it is 7% of the world economy. And it is growing and continuing to grow, and you can imagine what kind of impact it is on the world economy. Massive FDI (foreign direct investment) — 8 billion dollars — goes to China a year for several years running. China now stands number four in global GDP and has achieved remarkably in manufacturing and the successful modernization and transformation of its industries.