The urban and rural residents in China have seen their income growing remarkably since the beginning of reform and opening up. During the 1978~2005 period, the income of the urban residents increased from 343 yuan to 10,493 yuan, while that of the rural residents went up from 134 yuan to 3,255 yuan.

In 2006, the national economy maintained a fast growth. The total annual GDP was 20940.7 billion yuan, representing an increase of 10.7% year on year, which is expected to be the fastest annual growth in the past ten years.

Since 2006, economy has grown at a higher level and tends to accelerate; there has been a booming demand on Chinese domestic market, investment has increased faster and consumption has been more vigorous; foreign trade surplus has expanded continually and the net external demand has risen.

In general, the achievements in economic development since China started its reform have been positively evaluated domestically and internationally.

China’s economic growth since the founding of the People’s Republic has been following the pattern of the initial economic growth of the early industrialized countries.

The major features of the economic situation in 2006 include: the overall level of the economic growth increased over last year, and the economic performances showed a trend of declining after rising and remaining stable at the high level.

China’s apparent consumption of crude oil and finished oil products grew rapidly in the first half of 2006. It is expected that in the second half of the year, the demand for gasoline, kerosene and diesel will continue to grow rapidly at a faster year-on-year pace.

The degree of regional industrial division and industrial cooperation can reflect both the resource and industrial advantages enjoyed by different regions and the changes related to these advantages.