Pulling ahead in purchasing power

December 1978 may have marked the commencement of China's opening up to the international business community, but economic growth did not really take off until the early 1990s, at which time a quantum leap in foreign direct investment provided an "accelerator" effect.

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If the ICP's recent announcement is soon accepted as the start of China's inevitable rise to the top of the global economic tree, then a repeat of the early 1990s "accelerator" effect may well recur.

Chinese business still lacks confidence and is held back by a relatively conservative approach to international expansion, but establishment as the world's leading economy may well contribute to soaring confidence and creativity across China's business community.

Finally and fundamentally, a nonlinear relationship between China's economic emergence and time is highly likely to continue with the disproportionately modernizing influence of China's younger generations, especially those whose formative years took place soon after the early 1990s.

The ICP's report and more similar announcements will only serve to galvanize and empower China's younger generations, already bursting with entrepreneurial ambition.

Of course, the ICP's announcement should be greeted with caution, but China's economic competitors should react with anything but caution as China's miraculous march to the top continues.

Once China reaches the top, expect to witness an even more dramatic shift up the economic gear levers.

The author is a visiting professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and a senior lecturer on marketing at Southampton Solent University's School of Business. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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