what is the economy of china?
Socialist state
entailment
 China ranked 29th in the Global Competitiveness Index in 2009 , although it is only ranked 136th among the 179 countries measured in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom . In 2014 , Fortune 's Global 500 list of the world 's largest corporations included 95 Chinese companies , with combined revenues of US $ 5 @.@ 8 trillion . The same year , Forbes reported that five of the world 's ten largest public companies were Chinese , including the world 's largest bank by total assets , the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China . 

entailment
 China had the largest economy in the world for most of the past two thousand years , during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline . Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978 , China has become one of the world 's fastest @-@ growing major economies . As of 2014 , it is the world 's second @-@ largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity ( PPP ) . China is also the world 's largest exporter and second @-@ largest importer of goods . China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world 's largest standing army and second @-@ largest defense budget . The PRC is a member of the United Nations , as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in 1971 . China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations , including the WTO , APEC , BRICS , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ) , the BCIM and the G @-@ 20 . 

contradiction
 Today , the Chinese government has accepted numerous elements of traditional Chinese culture as being integral to Chinese society . With the rise of Chinese nationalism and the end of the Cultural Revolution , various forms of traditional Chinese art , literature , music , film , fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival , and folk and variety art in particular have sparked interest nationally and even worldwide . China is now the third @-@ most @-@ visited country in the world , with 55 @.@ 7 million inbound international visitors in 2010 . It also experiences an enormous volume of domestic tourism ; an estimated 740 million Chinese holidaymakers travelled within the country in October 2012 alone . 

contradiction
 China has the world 's largest market for automobiles , having surpassed the United States in both auto sales and production . Auto sales in 2009 exceeded 13 @.@ 6 million and may reach 40 million by 2020 . A side @-@ effect of the rapid growth of China 's road network has been a significant rise in traffic accidents , with poorly enforced traffic laws cited as a possible cause — in 2011 alone , around 62 @,@ 000 Chinese died in road accidents . In urban areas , bicycles remain a common mode of transport , despite the increasing prevalence of automobiles – as of 2012 , there are approximately 470 million bicycles in China . 

contradiction
 China is one of 17 megadiverse countries , lying in two of the world 's major ecozones : the Palearctic and the Indomalaya . By one measure , China has over 34 @,@ 687 species of animals and vascular plants , making it the third @-@ most biodiverse country in the world , after Brazil and Colombia . The country signed the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity on 11 June 1992 , and became a party to the convention on 5 January 1993 . It later produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan , with one revision that was received by the convention on 21 September 2010 . 
