In 1996 the streets of every Chinese city were dominated by bicycles. The private car was still quite rare: fewer than four households in a thousand owned one. In 2009 China overtook America to become the world’s largest market for new cars. In 2010 50% more cars were sold in China than America, including booming sales of Audis, Mercedes and Rolls-Royces.
For more than 20 years the Chinese economy has grown at around 10% a year. That is faster than any other major economy in history. Even in Britain’s Industrial Revolution the economy only grew at around 2–2.5% a year. China is not only remarkable for its rate of growth, but also its population size. This is a country with a quarter of the world’s population. If all 1.3 billion of its people obtain economic wealth, even the United States will have to step back. China is set to become the world’s superpower.
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