China’s growth rate isn’t remarkable compared with that of other East Asian nations. But its huge population makes China more important – and its government has used that marketplace leverage to lure multinational firms and to arrange for the transfer of valuable know-how in joint ventures. That raises the prospect that China may catch up with the developed world faster than anyone expected.
According to a 2010 United Nations survey, China is the world’s most popular destination for multinational corporations’ investment in new factories and other facilities, while India and Brazil bumped the US from second place (in 2009) to fourth.