Economy and Finance

Abstract

State-owned companies dominate China’s “strategic heights” fields, such as finance, defense, education, science and technology, power and water supply, posts and telecommunication, railways and civil aviation, and minerals and mining. But a huge private sector has emerged, which is particularly active in the services, knowledge, and hi-tech industries and follows the rules of a modern market system. Many couples of migrant workers live in the cities only for some time; they return home to their villages or townships in the countryside during the Spring Festival. China’s financial system is regulated, controlled, and supervised by the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, which is represented in the State Council by a minister. China’s fiscal system is highly decentralized. The central government determines the broad outline of expenditures and revenue sharing with each province or municipality, but expenditure assignments are handled on a provincial level.