China's economy in transition

Anoop Singh, Malhar Nabar, Papa M'B. P. N'Diaye

China's current account surplus has declined to around a quarter of its pre-crisis peak. While this is a major reduction in China's external imbalance, it has not been accompanied by a decisive shift toward consumption based growth. Instead, the compression in the external surplus has been accomplished through fixed investment rising even higher as a share of the national economy. The heavy reliance on investment raises questions about how durable the compression in the external surplus will be and whether the current growth model, which has had unprecedented success in lifting about 500 million people out of poverty over the last three decades, is sustainable. This volume looks at various aspects of the rebalancing under way in China and highlights policy lessons for achieving a stable, sustainable, and inclusive transformation of the growth model.