The View | Is this China’s lost decade? The economy is slowing, and now’s the time to focus on quality of life

Richard Harris says China’s decade of development was in the 2000s and as its economic growth inevitably slows, the real target for Beijing is to keep improving its GDP per capita to enhance quality of life for ordinary citizens

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A view of the east third ring road in Beijing on July 24. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00am, 13 Sep 2018Updated: 10:32pm, 13 Sep 2018

Looking north from Jingshan, the little hill just north of the Forbidden City in Beijing, one can see the ancient Drum Tower located between the Old Beijing first ring road and the second ring road that encloses the small houses and hutongs of the pre-1930s.

Between the second and third ring roads are expressionless four- or five-storey concrete blocks housing the migrants, factories and services of the Mao-era. The third and fourth ring roads are bounded by the tall, functional buildings that epitomise China’s modern development, kick-started by Deng Xiaoping’s southern tour in 1992.

Outside the fourth stands the exotic architecture and advanced engineering of the 2000s, exemplified by the towers in the Olympic Park that reflect the nation taking its place globally. The fifth ring road encloses land prepared for future development, while there is a sixth, 220km long, whose development has been stalled by China’s lost decade.

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Chinese GDP rose by a staggering 1,100 per cent between 1992 and 2010. The global share of goods exports grew from 2 per cent to over 17 per cent. Income per head rose 970 per cent, 10 times faster than in the United States. A full half a billion people were lifted from rural poverty to middle-class comfort. No country in history has accomplished so much in so short a time for so many people.

When I stood on Jingshan in 2010, it was widely assumed that this meteoric rate of growth would continue – we were entering China’s decade – the decade when China’s economy would become bigger than the US’.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}The View | Is this China’s lost decade? The economy is slowing, and now’s the time to focus on quality of life

The View | Is this China’s lost decade? The economy is slowing, and now’s the time to focus on quality of life