Since 2010, China has had the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP,[294] totaling approximately US$15.66 trillion (101.6 trillion Yuan) as of 2020.[295][296] In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP GDP), China's economy has been the largest in the world since 2014, according to the World Bank.[297] China is also the world's fastest-growing major economy.[298] According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $14.28 trillion by 2019.[299] China's economic growth has been consistently above 6 percent since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978.[300] China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods.[301] Between 2010 and 2019, China's contribution to global GDP growth has been 25% to 39%.[302][303]

China had one of the largest economies in the world for most of the past two thousand years,[304] during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline.[305][306] Since economic reforms began in 1978, China has developed into a highly diversified economy and one of the most consequential players in international trade. Major sectors of competitive strength include manufacturing, retail, mining, steel, textiles, automobiles, energy generation, green energy, banking, electronics, telecommunications, real estate, e-commerce, and tourism. China has three out of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world[307]—Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen—that together have a market capitalization of over $15.9 trillion, as of October 2020.[308] China has four (Shanghai,

China has been the world's No. 1 manufacturer since 2010, after overtaking the US, which had been No. 1 for the previous hundred years.[311][312] China has also been No. 2 in high-tech manufacturing since 2012, according to US National Science Foundation.[313] China is the second largest retail market in the world, next to the United States.[314] China leads the world in e-commerce, accounting for 40% of the global market share in 2016[315] and more than 50% of the global market share in 2019.[316] China is the world's leader in electric vehicles, manufacturing and buying half of all the plug-in electric cars (BEV and PHEV) in the world in 2018.[317] China is also the leading producer of batteries for electric vehicles as well as several key raw materials for batteries.[318] China had 174 GW of installed solar capacity by the end of 2018, which amounts to more than 40% of the global solar capacity.[319]

Foreign and Chinese sources have claimed that official Chinese government statistics overstate China's economic growth.[321][322][323][324] However, several Western academics and institutions have stated that China's economic growth is higher than indicated by official figures.[325][326][327][328][329][330]

China has a large informal economy, which arose as a result of the country's economic opening. The informal economy is a source of employment and income for workers, but it is unrecognized and suffers from lower productivity.[331] In 2021, China announced it had completely eliminated poverty through a series of direct-action poverty alleviation policies.[332] Chinese women in China work as prostitutes in bars in South Korea, such as Maggie's because of economy problems. Chinese women also work in the brothels of South Korea. Because Chinese citizens can stay in South Korea without registration or need for a visa, many of the prostitutes have been there for many years and return to China once a month.

Since 2010, China has had the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP,[294] totaling approximately US$15.66 trillion (101.6 trillion Yuan) as of 2020.[295][296] In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP GDP), China's economy has been the largest in the world since 2014, according to the World Bank.[297] China is also the world's fastest-growing major economy.[298] According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $14.28 trillion by 2019.[299] China's economic growth has been consistently above 6 percent since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978.[300] China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods.[301] Between 2010 and 2019, China's contribution to global GDP growth has been 25% to 39%.[302][303]

China had one of the largest economies in the world for most of the past two thousand years,[304] during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline.[305][306] Since economic reforms began in 1978, China has developed into a highly diversified economy and one of the most consequential players in international trade. Major sectors of competitive strength include manufacturing, retail, mining, steel, textiles, automobiles, energy generation, green energy, banking, electronics, telecommunications, real estate, e-commerce, and tourism. China has three out of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world[307]—Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen—that together have a market capitalization of over $15.9 trillion, as of October 2020.[308] China has four (Shanghai,

China has been the world's No. 1 manufacturer since 2010, after overtaking the US, which had been No. 1 for the previous hundred years.[311][312] China has also been No. 2 in high-tech manufacturing since 2012, according to US National Science Foundation.[313] China is the second largest retail market in the world, next to the United States.[314] China leads the world in e-commerce, accounting for 40% of the global market share in 2016[315] and more than 50% of the global market share in 2019.[316] China is the world's leader in electric vehicles, manufacturing and buying half of all the plug-in electric cars (BEV and PHEV) in the world in 2018.[317] China is also the leading producer of batteries for electric vehicles as well as several key raw materials for batteries.[318] China had 174 GW of installed solar capacity by the end of 2018, which amounts to more than 40% of the global solar capacity.[319]

Foreign and Chinese sources have claimed that official Chinese government statistics overstate China's economic growth.[321][322][323][324] However, several Western academics and institutions have stated that China's economic growth is higher than indicated by official figures.[325][326][327][328][329][330]

China has a large informal economy, which arose as a result of the country's economic opening. The informal economy is a source of employment and income for workers, but it is unrecognized and suffers from lower productivity.[331] In 2021, China announced it had completely eliminated poverty through a series of direct-action poverty alleviation policies.[332] Chinese women in China work as prostitutes in bars in South Korea, such as Maggie's because of economy problems. Chinese women also work in the brothels of South Korea. Because Chinese citizens can stay in South Korea without registration or need for a visa, many of the prostitutes have been there for many years and return to China once a month.