The spectacular economic growth of China in the past three decades
has been associated with an equally remarkable high rate of saving. While
the gross national saving as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)
hovered just a little above 35 percent in the 1980s, the average yearly rate
climbed to 41 percent in the 1990s (fi gure 5.1). Since China’s entry into the
World Trade Organization (WTO), the growth in aggregate saving accelerated,
surging from just below 38 percent in 2000 to an unprecedented 53 percent
in 2007. China’s national saving rates since 2000 have been one of the
highest worldwide, far surpassing the rates prevailing in Japan, South Korea,
and other East Asian economies during the years of their miracle growth