China Attains Remarkable Progress in Economic Restructuring

China's economic structure has undergone great changes and made a qualitative leap over the past 50 years since the founding of New China in 1949, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

An analytical report released the NBS concerning China's economic restructuring said that major changes in the country's economic structure are centered on the upgrading of industrialization and the rationalization of industries. By now China has basically found out the right way to optimize its economic structure.

According to the report, China has shifted from a traditional agricultural nation to a developing country with a range of comprehensive economic categories and initial industrialization.

In 1949, China's agricultural output value was 58.5 percent of aggregate social output value, while industrial output value accounted for only 30 percent in aggregate industrial and agricultural output value. By 1998, the fixed assets value of the country's state-owned industrial enterprises had increased to more than three trillion yuan (360 billion US dollars) from 10.7 billion yuan (1.3 billion US dollars) in 1952.

Over the past 50 years, China's economic structure has shifted from partially stressing industry to the all-round growth of all three industries. Before the launching of opening up and reform policies in the late 1970s, China's economic growth relied mainly on the development of industry, especially heavy industry. This trend, however, has been altered in the past two decades, with attention being attached to agriculture, light industry and the tertiary industry.

China's opening and reform drive has eased restrictions on the growth of the tertiary industry, boosting the development of agricultural services, geological prospecting and water conservancy management, finance and insurance, real estate, social services, scientific research, comprehensive technological services and other tertiary industrial sectors.

The internal structure of agriculture has also been readjusted from solely stressing grain production to the overall development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery.

In 1978, crop planting business made up 80 percent in aggregate agricultural output value, whereas forestry, animal husbandry and fishery accounted merely for 3.4 percent, 15 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

By 1998, the proportion of crop planting in agricultural output value had fallen to 56.2 percent, while that of animal husbandry and fishery had risen to 30.8 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

Experts hold that after 20 years' opening and reform efforts, the proportions of China's three major industries, light and heavy industries as well as internal sectors of various industries, have gradually been balanced.

The experts said that, judging from an overall point of view, China's economic set-up has reversed the trend of disproportion and initially completed industrial rationalization, entering a new phase of structural upgrading and high-quality development.