China's exports: Evolution of Economic Policies, Key Sectors, and Export Destinations

Abstract

Since China's opening to the world in 1979, the nation's economy and trade have seen impressive growth, with exports at the forefront of that progress.

This thesis will examine the evolution of the government's policies and efforts to expand the country's economy, which have led to China's current position as a world leader, focusing on the promotion of exports and international trade. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to provide an analysis of how these policies impacted specific key sectors and markets.

The first section of this thesis presents an outline of the most important economic measures, how the Chinese government implemented them, and their success. In the second section of this thesis, we will focus on specific key sectors that drive economic development or that have been disproportionately impacted by export-oriented policies. The last section will examine the history of China's primary foreign trade partners, and how their relationship changed with time, particularly the evolution of the main importers of Chinese exports since 1979.