How poor is China? New research suggests that poverty in China is more widespread, and the economy much smaller, than previously thought.

Economist (US), The, October, 1996

China has been viewed as a fast-rising economic power with a huge potential market, but a report by the World Bank has revised previous figures and decreased the country's economic estimates by 25%. The report also indicates that about one third of the population is living in poverty.

IN RECENT years it has become accepted wisdom that China is an economic superpower in the making. Reputable economists have predicted that the Chinese economy could be the largest in the world by 2001. Businessmen have panted at the potential of a market of 1.2 billion consumers. The World Bank has lauded China's achievements in reducing the proportion of its population living in poverty to less than a tenth.

There is only one snag. Many of the numbers on which these claims were...

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