NO fast-growing Asian economy that has doubled its gross domestic product (GDP) within a single decade (and there have been several) has failed to double it again in the subsequent 10 years of development.
On this premise, Australian economist Dr Ross Garnaut put the case for a continuation of China's rapid future economic growth to an Australian Chamber of Commerce meeting in Hong Kong last week.
Dr Garnaut, a former Australian Ambassador to Beijing, said there seemed to be a circle of growth in Asian economies which resulted in the dynamic of growth continuing once it had started strongly.
But he warned that the question still plaguing China was ''will it be different?'' not only because of its sheer size, but also because of where it is coming from (a centrally planned economy) and where it is attempting to go (a socialist market economy).
It is these factors that make China unique in Asia despite the fast pace of economic growth (nine per cent a year over the last 10 years) which resembles other major Asian region success stories.
Dr Garnaut's view is that there are three main challenges facing China. The first is the major problem of managing structural change - the macro-economic management of the move from central planning to a more market-orientated economy.
