Economy of China

China has an upper middle income developing mixed socialist market economy that incorporates industrial policies and strategic five-year plans. It is the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP, behind the United States, and the world's largest economy since 2016 when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, China's GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply. China accounted for 18.6% of global economy in 2022 in PPP terms, and around 18% in nominal terms in 2022. Historically, China was one of the world's foremost economic powers for most of the two millennia from the 1st until the 19th century. The economy consists of public sector enterprise, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and mixed-ownership enterprises, as well as a large domestic private sector and openness to foreign businesses in a system. It recently overtook the economy of the European Union in 2021. Private investment and exports are the main drivers of economic growth in China; but, in recent years, the Chinese government has been emphasizing domestic consumption. China is the world's largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods. It is also the world's fastest-growing consumer market and second-largest importer of goods. China is also the world's largest consumer of numerous commodities, and accounts for about half of global consumption of metals. China is a net importer of services products. It is the largest trading nation in the world and plays a prominent role in international trade. China is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the world as of 2020, receiving inflows of $163 billion. It has the second largest outward foreign direct investment, at US$136.91 billion for 2019 alone, following Japan at US$226.65 billion for the same period. As of 2022, China was second in the world in total number of billionaires. In 2018, it was second in millionaires with 3.5 million. According to the 2019 Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse Group, China surpassed the US in the wealth of the top ten percent of the world's population.