China is one of the oldest continuous civilizations in the world, organized society, there are over 10,000 years. Although the country has a complex dynamic of the past, the scale and pace of change in China over the past 25 years have been unprecedented in the history of the country. Since 1979, when China started the reform era in the country reduced the number of people living in poverty by 200 million and reached a six-fold increase in per capita income. China accounted for about 4% of the world's gross domestic product in 2004 and is the sixth-largest economy and a major recipient of foreign direct investment. While these results are impressive, it's only the beginning for China. In the most populated country in the world, China needs to create 100 million new jobs by 2013 and quadruple GDP by 2020 to achieve and maintain an acceptable standard of living for its people. For this, the country should further open itself to foreign investment, trade and market ideas that will stimulate domestic productivity and build their competitiveness as a nation. Michael Porter argues that "National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of the natural resources of the country, its labor pool, interest rates or currency values. Competitiveness of a country depends on the ability of its industry to innovate and upgrade." Over the past two and a half decades, China has proven its ability to capitalize on its inherent advantages and to make meaningful reforms. If the country can build on these successes to create a sustainable competitive advantage in a competitive environment remains to be seen. "Hide
by Bruce McKern, Lyn Denend Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business 39 pages. Publication Date: November 30, 2004. Prod. #: IB57-PDF-ENG
