Two events in the late 20th century and early 21st century will go down in history as events of historic significance for China. One was the smashing of the Gang of Four and launching of the reform and opening-up. The other is Beijing's hosting the 2008 Olympics. The winning bid to host the Games is a symbol of China’s rising standing among its world peers. In the contest to become a host for the Olympics, countries must compete with each other in areas of economic power, development potential, cultural tradition, education and science as well as international image. Since 1993 when China lost to Sydney in hosting the Game, China has made extensive and intensive changes in all areas in which impacted the rest of the world as well. This is how they won the bid for the 2008 Olympics.
Significant Progress
· China’s GDP has risen 2.5 fold, ranked 4th at 2.7 trillion USD (2006), compared to U.S. at 13.3 trillion USD ranked 1st, followed by Japan and Germany.
· China is Asia’s fastest growing economy over the past 20 years
· In 1985, average income in China was $280 USD; in 2005 the average income had increased to $1,290 USD.
· China's transportation and communications infrastructures had been significantly improved.
- The recent railway infrastructure in the Western regions, particularly Xinjiang and Tibet, China’s most remote regions helped reunite China.
- China is working on more plans for infrastructure development in these regions in roads, railways and oil pipe lines.
- The railway infrastructure significantly boosts tourism in China which brought 8 million U.S. dollars to Xinjiang, a year-on-year growth of 40.6 percent.
· The construction of sports venues and environmental protection projects had also made impressive progress.
· Hong Kong and Macau returned to the sovereignty of China and were functioning smoothly as two special administrative regions of China, which helped enhance China's international status.
· Internationally, the country's relations with the United States and European countries began to develop in directions favorable to China, thanks to effective diplomatic strategy and policy.
· China adopted effective monetary policies in response to the impact of the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis, including maintaining the stability of the RMB foreign exchange rate. This helped keep the crisis from spilling over to larger areas, while maintaining the stability of China's own economy.
The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Sources:
www.worldbank.org
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn
www.wikipedia.com
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