Assessing China's economic performance since 1978: Material attainments and beyond

China's economy since 1978 has averaged a near 10% annual growth of real GDP and greater than 8% real GDP per capita. It has also achieved remarkably in other areas such as life expectancy and education of the population. How to assess and interpret China's economic performance? This research attempts to address this fundamental question. The author first investigates China's economic performance from the aspects of material attainments and non-material economic welfare, the dynamics of changing efficiency and equity, then identifies key institutional infrastructures and analyzes their developments and problems remaining toward a sustainable growth and a more equitable income distribution. A large amount of up-to-date data is utilized to support the analysis.