Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect begins

The leadership transition closed the period covered here. China had entered global trade deeply and expanded state capacity, but faced unresolved challenges in household demand, labor rights, social...

The zone tested investment, trade, finance and administrative changes through a geographically bounded pilot. It extended China’s strategy of selective opening: market access was expanded in a...

The Third Plenum’s decision called for the market to play a “decisive” role in resource allocation while affirming the state’s larger role. This mixed formula framed the decade: market mechanisms...

A reform of registered-capital rules lowered some entry barriers for new firms by moving away from a universal paid-in-capital requirement. Easier registration could widen entrepreneurial access,...

The State Council called for easing hukou barriers in smaller cities and improving access to basic services for migrants. The reform addressed a labor system that depended on migrant work while...

The 2015 Government Work Report placed “Made in China 2025” on the national agenda, aiming to upgrade manufacturing through technology and higher domestic capabilities. The strategy linked...

The State Council released a decade-long manufacturing strategy for innovation, quality and industrial upgrading. It reflected a state-led effort to move up global value chains rather than accept a...

The PBOC adjusted how the daily central rate was set, linking it more closely to the previous day’s market close and supply and demand. This expanded market signals in exchange-rate formation but...

The IMF decided that the renminbi would join the Special Drawing Rights basket from October 2016. The move marked international recognition of China’s trade and financial weight, while also reflecting...

The annual conference made supply-side structural reform a central economic policy framework for 2016, including capacity cuts, deleveraging, destocking, cost reduction and stronger weak links. The...