Over the last 25 years Chinas economy has drastically changed. They went from a centrally planned system that relied heavily upon international trade, to a system that is now more market oriented.

In 2005, China had the second largest economy in the world; being edged out only by the United States. During this time, economic development is taking place mostly in coastal areas as opposed to interior cities.

Over the past couple of years the government has struggled with a couple of issues that has held the economy down. The first problem came when there were mass lay off at state-owned enterprises. This made a lot of people unemployed, and has been holding the economy down for some time. Also, the government has had its hands full trying to stop corruption, and reduce other crimes related to business. Environmental damage has also presented a lot of problems. The rapid growth took off so quickly that the state of the environment has become compromised.

In 2005 China reevaluated its currency system, and transitioned to an exchange rate that takes into consideration a number of different currencies from across the world.

China currently has a plan in place to conserve resources and protect the environment in the upcoming years.