Economy of China

China has emerged as a major economic power with significant influence on global trade and development.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) has a developing socialist market economy, incorporating industrial policies and strategic five-year plans. China has the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and since 2016 has been the world's largest economy when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). China accounted for 19% of the global economy in 2025 in PPP terms, and around 17% in nominal terms in 2025. The economy consists of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and mixed-ownership enterprises, as well as a large domestic private sector which contribute approximately 60% of the GDP, 80% of urban employment and 90% of new jobs.

China is the world's largest manufacturing industrial economy and exporter of goods. China is widely regarded as the "powerhouse of manufacturing", "the factory of the world" and the world's "manufacturing superpower". Its production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined. Exports as a percentage of GDP are around 20%. China is the largest trading nation in the world and plays a prominent role in international trade. Manufacturing has been transitioning toward high-tech industries such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, telecommunications and IT equipment, and services has also grown as a percentage of GDP. China is the world's largest high technology exporter. As of 2023, the country spends around 2.6% of GDP to advance research and development across various sectors of the economy. It is also the world's second-largest importer of goods. China is a net importer of services products.

China has a network of free trade agreements with several countries, though Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) accounts for the bulk of its trade integration. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 142 are headquartered in China. It has three of the world's top ten most competitive financial centers and three of the world's ten largest stock exchanges (both by market capitalization and by trade volume). China has the second-largest financial assets in the world, valued at $17.9 trillion as of 2021. China is one of the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world as of 2025, receiving inflows of $107 billion. It has the third largest outbound FDI, at US$192.20 billion for 2024. China's economic growth has dealt with a range of challenges in the 2020s including higher youth unemployment and a property crisis.

With 773 million workers, the Chinese labor force is the world's largest as of 2024, although it is shrinking due to the rapidly aging population. In March 2025, Forbes estimated China ranked second in the world, after the U.S., in total number of billionaires and total number of millionaires, with 516 Chinese billionaires, while Hurun Global Rich List estimated it ranked first, with 1,021 billionaires. China also has 6.3 million millionaires as of 2025, second highest after the U.S. Public social expenditure in China was around 10% of GDP.