It is difficult to overstate how the reforms since 1978 have improved the life of the average citizen in China. According to China's Office on Poverty Alleviation and Development, well over 100 million individuals have risen out of destitution and now live above the official poverty line (set at annual per capita income below 640, which equals $ 77). At present, 42 million Chinese still live below the poverty line. Much work, of course, remains to be done in this regard.
In addition to helping alleviate poverty, the economic reforms in China have brought overall gains as well as the gains per capital income for both urban and rural residents suggest. While there is some question on the veracity of data.
The overall quality of life for the average citizen in China has improved dramatically since the reform in 1978. Citizens now have access to better services in crucial areas such as health care and 'education.
41. ______.
The better lives that citizens in China now lead is a direct result of the decision by China's leadership in 1978 to pursue the path of economic reform in a more marked-oriented direction.
Despite the overall importance of the domestic economy in determining China's economic future, there still are two reasons why China's entry to the WTO will help its citizens lead better lives.
42. ______.
As noted above, government officials in China report that roughly 20% of the increase in GDP during the 1990's is attributable to growth in exports.
Still, exports in some key sectors such as textiles and other labor-intensive sectors would expand. Overall, in light of long-term dynamic effects, the Chinese government predicts that China's entry to the WTO would increase its GDP by 95.5 billion ($ 23.64 billion), or 1.5 percent by 2005. And while acknowledging that some 10 million jobs will be lost in agriculture, auto and machinery sectors.
43. ______.
Chinese firms will also face a more stable export environment, one less subject to anti-dumping and special safeguard provisions. The country will be able to enjoy stable multilateral preferential trade polices in a rules-based market.
44. ______.
As noted above, China's transition to a market-oriented economy is not complete and elements of centralized planning remain. And it is quite clear that despite the impressive gains, China has made economically over the past 20 years, many intractable problems remain, such as the restructuring of state-owned enterprises half of which are losing money. China's industrial landscape is littered with" empty-shell enterprises" and state officials routinely argue that some 30% of the workforce in SOEs is superfluous.
China's banking system is in precarious position as well, given declining capital adequacy and the continued reliance of the state-banking system on policy-based lending as opposed to examination of market criteria. To a large extent these economic problems reflect the inherent difficulty of trying to recover from 30 years of horribly misguided economic policies.
45. ______.
[A] Millions more now have electricity (and consequently, refrigeration) and telephone service as well.
[B] The second and more important reason that China's entry to the WTO will help China's citizenry is that it will strengthen the hand of pro-reform elements in the government.
[C] The best way out of this economic dilemma, however, is for China to continue to strengthen its reform effort, not to restrict.
[D] In the late-1990s and early-2000s, the focus was also on industrial reform, which involved the painful closing of unprofitable state-owned factories and the development of social security systems.
[E] First, as China's largest export market after Hong Kong, the United States plays a primary role in enriching Chinese companies, primarily non-state-owned entities.
[F] Surprisingly, many international companies now spend a lot of money on training.
[G] Chinese economists predict that WTO membership will create 12 million jobs in other sectors such as textiles, toys, and footwear.