Country Information

• GDP: US$3.61 trillion (2007).
• Main exports: Machinery and equipment, textiles, clothing and plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel.
• Main imports: Machinery and equipment, oil and gas, mineral fuels, plastics, organic chemicals, iron and steel.
• Main trade partners: USA, European Union, Hong Kong (SAR), Japan and Korea (Rep).

China's is now the world's fourth-largest economy, and has seen rapid and consistent growth since starting economic reforms in the 1980s. GDP growth has averaged 10% per year for the past decade. In October 2008, China's foreign exchange reserves hit a new high of USD1.9 trillion.

There is a significant industrial base with pockets of advanced manufacturing and high-technology enterprises, concentrated on the eastern coast and the Pearl River Delta, including Special Administrative Regions such as Hong Kong and Macau.

With huge disparities between the prosperous coastal cities and the socially and economically less developed inland areas, there has been a major population shift from the countryside to cities. Massive engineering schemes include the Three Gorges Dam hydro-electric project, due for completion in 2009.

China is the world's largest rice producer and a major producer of cereals and grain. Large mineral deposits, particularly coal and iron ore, underpin an extensive steel industry. China has its own petrochemicals industry, but increasingly imports large quantities of oil and gas.

China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001. In 2005, its central bank removed the US-Dollar peg for the Yuan, tying it instead to a basket of international currencies. Ever since, the Chinese currency has appreciated at a brisk, albeit strictly managed, pace, though it is still not convertible on foreign markets.

Suits should be worn for business visits. Appointments should be made in advance and punctuality is expected. Business cards should be printed with a Chinese translation on the reverse and should be presented with both hands, while cards received should be studied and perhaps commented on. It is rude to put a business card directly into a pocket without giving it due attention, and a cardinal sin to put it in a back pocket.

Business visitors are usually entertained in restaurants where it is customary to arrive a little early and the host will frequently toast the visitor. Guests should always wait for their host to assign their seat. It is customary to invite the host or hostess to a return dinner. Business travellers in particular should bear in mind that certain political topics, notably Taiwan and Tibet, should not be broached at formal business occasions. Best months for business visits are April to June and September to October.

Office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800, midday break of one hour.

China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)
London office: 40-41 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JQ, UK
Tel: (020) 7321 2044.
Website: http://english.ccpit.org
Beijing office: 1 Fuxingmenwai Street, Beijing 100860, People's Republic of China
Tel: (10) 8807 516.
Website: www.ccpit.org

China hosts numerous international conventions each year, holding them in extensive facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities including Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Xi'an and Kunming.