China’s economic performance over the past 30 years has been remarkable. It is a unique development success story, providing valuable lessons for other countries seeking to emulate this success—lessons about the importance of adapting to local initiative and interregional competition; integrating with the world; adjusting to new technologies; building world-class infrastructure; and investing
heavily in its people. In the next 15 to 20 years, China is wellpositioned to join the ranks of the world’s high-income countries. China’s policy makers are already focused on how to change
the country’s growth strategy to respond to the new challenges that will come, and avoid the “middle-income trap.”