Some new, weird numbers to chew on. From Shanghai Youth Daily via sina.com.cn, translated by CDT:
A recently released paper, China Modernization Report 2007 (‰∏≠ÂõΩÁé∞‰ª£ÂåñÊä•Âëä2007), predicts that China will fully complete its “first modernization” by 2015, based on the growth rate between 1980 and 2004, meaning in eight years China will be as rich as a developed nation in the 1960s.
In 2005, China’s “first modernization achievement rate (Á¨¨‰∏Äʨ°Áé∞‰ª£ÂåñÂÆûÁé∞Á®ãÂ∫¶)” was 87%, up one percentage point than the previous year. The term refers to a basket of ten benchmarks, such as GNP per capita, agricultural added value’s percentage, service added value’s percentage, agricultural labor’s percentage, urban population’s percentage, medical services, infant survival rates, life expectancy, adult literacy and college penetration. Measured by this standard, China ranked 55th in 2005. But the report calls for action on ecological challenges, as China ranked 100th among 118 countries.
Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin already reached a mid-developed country’s level in 2004. [Full Text, in Chinese]
