China's Economy, Politics, and Demographics
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW According to the World Bank, China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $18.7 trillion in 2024, compared to $29.2 trillion for the United States. China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025 was approximately $19.5 trillion . China's economy was 64% the size of the American economy; a generation ago, in 2000, China's GDP was only 12% of America's. China has been a spectacular economic success story. GDP per person in 2025 reached slightly under $14,000, which was 15 times as great as in 1990. China has increased its share of global manufacturing from 6% in 2000 to 32% in 2024. Manufacturing makes up 28% of China’s economy, compared with 11% in the United States. China's dominance of the interconnected group of high-tech products will continue to make China the dominant manufacturing country in the world. China will also dominate the global economy, exporting its high-growth products at falling prices and developing join...