Services and metropolitan development in China: the case of Guangzhou

摘要

Significant economic and spatial transformation has taken place in China since the late 1970s, when China began to abandon the self-reliance approach and adopted open door and reform policy. The process of transformation has been characterized by a sharp increase of non-agricultural activities, which has contributed to the country's staggering economic growth and urban development. In 1952, the secondary and the tertiary sector in China accounted for 49.5% of the GDP and only 16.5% of total employment. In 2001, their shares were 84.8 and 50.0%, respectively (Table 1). Apart from the continuous proportional decline of the primary sector in the national economy, the rise of the tertiary sector in China has been remarkable. During the period between 1952 and 1978, the secondary sector increased by 27.3% in GDP and by 9.9% in employment. The tertiary industry increased only by 3.1% in employment but decreased by 4.9% in GDP. Between 1978 and 2001, however, the development of the tertiary sector eclipsed that of the secondary sector. The tertiary sector gained 9.9% points in GDP and 15.5% points in employment, while the secondary sector merely gained 2.9 and 5.0% in output and employment, respectively. The emphasis of growth has gradually shifted from the secondary sector to the tertiary sector in the past two decades and as a result, the tertiary sector's share of total employment has outperformed that of the secondary sector since 1994 (Table 1).