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IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2021, Digital 2021, Talent 2021: summaries

COUNTRY CHINA
PROFILE
WORLD COMPETITIVENESS
RANKING 2021
All data are available from the
World Competitiveness Online.

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1
COMPETITIVENESS TRENDS - OVERALL

CHINA
OVERALL PERFORMANCE (64 countries) BASIC FACTS Rank

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Capital Beijing

2020
Land area (square km '000) 9,563
13 14 16 Exchange Rate (per $) 6.901
2020
18 20
2020
Population - market size (millions) 1,411.78 1
2020
CHALLENGES IN 2021 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (US$ billions) 14,722.8 2
•Stimulate
Stimulate domestic
domestic consumption
consumption to promote
to promote high-quality
high-quality socio-
socio- 2020
GDP (PPP) per capita (US$) 17,101 52
economic development.
•economic development.
Strengthen anti-monopoly and prevent disorderly expansion of Real GDP growth (%) 2.3
2020
3
capital. 2020
• Manage the economic and social uncertainty caused by COVID- Consumer price inflation (%) 2.39 44
19 pandemic. Unemployment rate (%) 4.20
2020
10
• Promote international cooperation to meet the challenge of
2019
climate change. Labor force (millions) 811.04 1
• Address challenges posed by increasingly serious population 2020
ageing. Current account balance (% of GDP) 1.86 31
2019
Direct investment stocks inward ($bn) 1,769.5 4
Provided by: for Development Planning, Tsinghua University
China Institute Direct investment flows inward (% of GDP) 1.31
2019
49
China Institute for Development Planning, Tsinghua University

COMPETITIVENESS LANDSCAPE
Economic Performance Government Efficiency Business Efficiency Infrastructure

Technological Infrastructure
International Investment

Health and Environment

Productivity & Efficiency
Institutional Framework

Scientific Infrastructure
Management Practices

Attitudes and Values

Societal Framework
Domestic Economy

Business Legislation

Basic Infrastructure
International Trade

Public Finance

Labor Market
Employment

Tax Policy

Education
Finance
Prices

1
5 7
8 9 10
12
15
20 22 20 20
23
27 28
33 31
34 34

60

PEER GROUPS RANKINGS

ASIA - PACIFIC (14 countries) POPULATIONS > 20 MILLION (29 countries)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

3 3
3 3 5 5
4 7
5 5

2
 COMPETITIVENESS EVOLUTION & ATTRACTIVENESS INDICATORS

CHINA
COMPETITIVENESS EVOLUTION
The criteria below highlight the 15 biggest Improvements and the 15 biggest Declines in the overall performance of the economy. They are
determined by the largest percentage changes in the value of each criterion from one yearbook to the next.

WCY WCY WCY WCY

IMPROVEMENTS 2020 2021 DECLINES 2020 2021
4.1.07 Population - growth 0.33 0.84 1.4.04 Employment - long-term growth -1.79 -4.18

1.2.02 Current account balance 0.99 1.86 2.1.02 Government budget surplus/deficit (%) -5.87 -11.39

3.2.14 Labor force long-term growth -1.28 -0.57 1.1.15 Real GDP growth per capita 5.75 1.45

1.1.13 Economic complexity index 0.69 1.07 1.5.04 Office rent 756 1,315

2.2.02 Collected personal income tax 1.51 1.05 1.1.14 Real GDP growth 6.1 2.3

3.3.10 Stock market capitalization (%) 35.88 44.82 2.3.08 Exchange rate stability 0.018 0.026

2.2.08 Consumption tax rate 16.00 13.00 2.1.04 Total general government debt (%) 53.55 66.83

4.3.18 Number of patents in force 129.9 153.0 1.4.07 Unemployment rate 3.60 4.20

1.5.01 Consumer price inflation 2.90 2.39 1.2.25 Tourism receipts 0.29 0.25

4.2.07 Internet users 504 592 2.2.11 Real personal taxes 5.94 5.20

1.1.18 Gross fixed capital formation - real growth 5.12 5.95 2.4.11 Parallel economy 4.63 4.19

1.5.06 Gasoline prices 0.98 0.85 4.3.16 Patent applications per capita 104.65 94.84

4.3.10 Researchers in R&D per capita 1.3 1.5 3.2.01 Compensation levels 5.56 6.07

3.3.17 Venture capital 5.04 5.66 3.4.03 Opportunities and threats 6.95 6.45

3.3.08 Stock markets 5.07 5.64 3.4.07 Use of big data and analytics 6.42 5.97

KEY ATTRACTIVENESS INDICATORS

From a list of 15 indicators, respondents of the Executive Opinion Survey were asked to select 5 that they perceived as the key
attractiveness factors of their economy. The chart shows the percentage of responses per indicator from the highest number of responses
to the lowest.

Dynamism of the economy 62.0%

Open and positive attitudes 58.9%
Skilled workforce 57.4%
Policy stability & predictability 48.1%
Reliable infrastructure 38.0%
Competency of government 32.6%
Cost competitiveness 26.4%
Business-friendly environment 25.6%
High educational level 21.7%
Strong R&D culture 20.9%
Quality of corporate governance 20.2%
Effective labor relations 18.6%
Effective legal environment 17.1%
Access to financing 15.5%
Competitive tax regime 4.7%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

3
WORLD COMPETITIVENESS
DIGITAL RANKING 2021

All data are available from the

World Competitiveness Online.

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4
DIGITAL TRENDS - OVERALL

CHINA
OVERALL PERFORMANCE (64 countries)
Overall Factors
Alpha AlphaLabel
Beta BetaLabel Gamma GammaLabel Sub-Factors
1 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 4 4 2 2
6.5 4 4 2 2
8.5 4 4 2 6 2 12 35 1
11 4 4 2 2

Talent Training & education Scientific concentration

Knowledge

15 20 15 27 28

Regulatory framework Capital Technological framework

Technology

17 19 3 32
The direction of the triangle indicates the
performance change from the last year:
Adaptive attitudes Business agility IT integration
 improved or stable Future readiness
declined

OVERALL & FACTORS - 5 years 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

OVERALL 31 30 22 16 15

Knowledge 23 30 18 8 6

Technology 36 34 26 27 20

Future readiness 34 28 21 18 17

COMPETITIVENESS & DIGITAL RANKINGS

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Digital
13 14 15
Competitiveness 18 16
22 16
20
N.B. This graph provides only a 30
comparison of the country’s 31
performance in the two rankings.

PEER GROUPS RANKINGS

ASIA - PACIFIC (14 countries) POPULATIONS > 20 MILLION (29 countries)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

5 8 7 6
7 6 11
9 9 12

5
 FACTORS BREAKDOWN - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

u Overall top strengths CHINA

w Overall top weaknesses

KNOWLEDGE

Subfactors 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Talent 23 18 19 13 12
Training & education 53 46 37 40 35
Scientific concentration 3 21 9 2 1

Talent Rank Training & education Rank Scientific concentration Rank

u Educational assessment PISA - Math 1 Employee training 13 Total expenditure on R&D (%) 14
w International experience 44 w Total public expenditure on education 52 Total R&D personnel per capita 36
Foreign highly-skilled personnel 31 Higher education achievement 16 Female researchers -
Management of cities 11 Pupil-teacher ratio (tertiary education) 41 u R&D productivity by publication 1
Digital/Technological skills 16 Graduates in Sciences - u Scientific and technical employment 1
w Net flow of international students 48 Women with degrees - High-tech patent grants 8
u Robots in Education and R&D 1

TECHNOLOGY

Subfactors 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Regulatory framework 32 26 20 18 15
Capital 22 30 32 31 27
Technological framework 47 40 32 32 28

Regulatory framework Rank Capital Rank Technological framework Rank

Starting a business 16 IT & media stock market capitalization 24 Communications technology 13
Enforcing contracts 5 Funding for technological development 16 Mobile Broadband subscribers 24
Immigration laws 31 Banking and financial services 33 Wireless broadband 23
Development & application of tech. 16 Country credit rating 26 w Internet users 57
Scientific research legislation 22 Venture capital 25 Internet bandwidth speed 25
Intellectual property rights 35 Investment in Telecommunications 37 High-tech exports (%) 8

FUTURE READINESS

Subfactors 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Adaptive attitudes 32 23 24 17 19
Business agility 24 19 1 4 3
IT integration 44 41 41 35 32

Adaptive attitudes Rank Business agility Rank IT integration Rank

E-Participation 9 Opportunities and threats 31 E-Government 40
Internet retailing 22 u World robots distribution 1 Public-private partnerships 4
Tablet possession 36 Agility of companies 19 Cyber security 12
Smartphone possession 17 Use of big data and analytics 11 w Software piracy 56
Attitudes toward globalization 11 Knowledge transfer 23
Entrepreneurial fear of failure 36

6
WORLD TALENT
RANKING 2021
All data are available from the
World Competitiveness Online.

Visit our eShop

7
Talent Ranking 2021

CHINA
OVERALL PERFORMANCE (64 countries)
The direction of the triangle indicates
Alpha the
AlphaLabel Beta BetaLabel Gamma GammaLabel
performance change from the last year:
1 2 2 2 2 2 20172 2018 2019 2020 2021
 improved or stable
4
declined 4 4 2 2
22
43
26

Investment & Overall 30

Development 31
32
Investment &

36 51 Development
Appeal 39
36

40 40 40
42 42 42
Appeal Readiness 43

22 51 51
54
55
56
Readiness

Investment & Development Value 2021 Rank

w Total public expenditure on education Percentage of GDP 3.5 % 51
Total public exp. on education per student Spending per enrolled pupil/student, all levels 1,767 US$ 48
Pupil-teacher ratio (primary education) Ratio of students to teaching staff 16.39 ratio 41
Pupil-teacher ratio (secondary education) Ratio of students to teaching staff 14.18 ratio 46
Apprenticeships are sufficiently implemented 5.57 Survey [0..10] 23
u Employee training is a high priority in companies 6.81 Survey [0..10] 13
Female labor force Percentage of total labor force - % -
Health infrastructure meets the needs of society 6.71 Survey [0..10] 30

Appeal Value 2021 Rank

w Cost-of-living index Index of a basket of goods & services in the main city, including housing (New York City = 100) 98.80 index 56
Attracting and retaining talents is a priority in companies 7.07 Survey [0..10] 31
Worker motivation in companies is high 6.72 Survey [0..10] 14
Brain drain (well-educated and skilled people) does not hinder competitiveness in your economy 4.68 Survey [0..10] 31
Quality of life is high 7.09 Survey [0..10] 31
Foreign highly-skilled personnel are attracted to your country's business environment 5.52 Survey [0..10] 31
w Remuneration in services professions Gross annual income including supplements such as bonuses, US$ 11,684 US$ 48
Remuneration of management Total base salary plus bonuses and long-term incentives, US$ 152,385 US$ 35
u Collected personal income tax On profits, income and capital gains, as a percentage of GDP 1.05 % 5
Justice is fairly administered 6.37 Survey [0..10] 26
w Exposure to particle pollution Mean population exposure to PM2.5, Micrograms per cubic metre 47.73 micrograms 61

Readiness Value 2021 Rank

u Labor force growth Percentage change 0.72 % 14
Skilled labor is readily available 6.19 Survey [0..10] 23
Finance skills are readily available 6.69 Survey [0..10] 24
International experience of senior managers is generally significant 4.91 Survey [0..10] 44
Competent senior managers are readily available 6.00 Survey [0..10] 26
u Primary and secondary education meets the needs of a competitive economy 8.00 Survey [0..10] 7
Graduates in Sciences % of graduates in ICT, Engineering, Math & Natural Sciences - % -
University education meets the needs of a competitive economy 7.27 Survey [0..10] 21
Management education meets the needs of the business community 7.09 Survey [0..10] 21
Language skills are meeting the needs of enterprises 6.30 Survey [0..10] 34
w Student mobility inbound Foreign tertiary-level students per 1000 inhabitants 0.14 number 56
u Educational assessment - PISA PISA survey of 15-year olds 579 Average 1

8
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