Abstract

Since the global financial crisis in 2008, Chinese economy has gradually taken a leave of the two-digit rapid growth. In 2015 the economic growth was 6.9%, lower than 7%. It is forecasted that the growth would be 6.7% in 2016 and 6.6% in 2017, indicating Chinese economy will secure the medium and high growth and is achieving the high-end development.

The high-end development is determined by two factors. First, the improvement of labor productivity which is essential to higher income and the growth of wages: in the process of industrialization, the improvement of labor productivity relies on capital intensity, while after the service-oriented economic restructuring, on human capital intensity. The improvement of labor productivity reflects the extent of human capital intensity and of the social welfare of a country. The second is the improvement and contribution of total-factor productivity, a comprehensive indicator for the technical progress and allocation in enterprises. Only if the growth of total-factor productivity is higher than the growth resulted from total-factor input, could total-factor productivity make more contribution. Besides, the contribution of total-factor productivity is the gauge of the contribution of inherent growth. From a nation-wide perspective, higher contribution of total-factor productivity means the economy is gradually shifting from reliance on factor input to inherent growth, while it is the growth of total-factor productivity that could overcome the decrease of returns to scale resulted from intensified human resources and capital. However, China at present is hard to realize the expected growth of the two factors and sees some declines, implying severe challenges. 

China’s economic growth is targeted to, on the basis of economic stability, deepen the structural reform of supply side, accelerate reshaping the efficiency improvement mode, and push Chinese economy to high-end development.