The thriving economy of China is dictated by the People's Republic of China. This has been the dominate force driving the economy since 1978. Currently China? economy ranks it #4 in the world so there is no doubt the regulations of the People's Republic of China are working well for the people of China. However, the biggest criticized of the Chinese economy is that it appears the rich people keep on getting richer and the poor people never escape from poverty.

To help with the growing gap in the different social classes China underwent a political balancing act to help rectify the situation. This process was introduced in the 1990's. The government worked hard to instill market reform. China really seemed to do well with the changed until the energy crisis that occurred in the late 1990's.

One issue that many countries have to contend with is unemployment. China appears to have the opposite problem. Since 2005 they have had a shortage of workers in the labor force to keep up with the continuous growth.

Skilled workers are needed for the corporations and technology while unskilled laborers are needed for tending to the farms. China is the 3rd worldwide in the amount of production annually in their factories. Agriculture is a huge part of the Chinese economy with more than 300 million people working in that area. The foods grown in China are highly exported. It is estimated that their food exports feed up to 20% of the world's population.

The growth of China has some of the leaders in the country worried though. They are continually increasing the amount of natural resources they consume on an annual basis. The pollution and other environmental problems that come from the high number of factories are a concern. China's economy is certainly growing, but it has a long ways to go, which means there are lots of opportunities available.