Since 1978, China's economy has grown annually by a tremendous compound rate of 9.4%. GDP leaped from USD27 billion in 1970 to USD8.9 trillion in 2005. The same year, China's foreign exchange reserves ranked second in the world and totaled over USD825 billion, while foreign trade was recorded at USD1.4 trillion.
Of China's rapidly growing industries, CBI Research & Consulting's most extensive research is in petrochemicals. China is one of the largest petrochemical producers and consumers in Asia and throughout the world. With huge supply shortfalls, China's import dependency on major petrochemicals is approximately 50%.
Since 2000, the world has been focusing on the Chinese steel industry. It is the largest steel producer, with output accounting for over one third of global supply, and as China changes from a net importer to a net exporter, domestic supply and demand dynamics are going to become an even greater world issue.
Since 1993, China has been transforming itself from a net exporter into a net importer of oil. In 2002, China replaced Japan to become the world's second largest consumer. Behind only the US, in 2005, apparent demand for crude oil reached 300 million tons and import dependency climbed to 42%.
CBI Research & Consulting covers all of China's major non-ferrous metals markets: copper, aluminum, zinc, nickel, lead, and tin. Output of these products rose sharply in the first half of 2006, and China's major non-ferrous metal enterprises saw their profits soar by nearly 60% to USD73 billion.
China is the second largest paper producer and consumer in the world. Its output and consumption respectively account for 10% and 14% of the global total, again, second only to the US. Total Chinese consumption of paper and paperboard will total over 80 million metric tons by 2015, and per capita consumption will have reached the current average, making China the largest paper consumer in the world.
Research into China's commodities markets is vital to all the major players of the business world, from investment banks to manufacturing companies, yet China's economy, representing the largest national market in the world, still remains a mystery to many of these foreign companies. Covering over 80 products in China's commodities industries, CBI Research & Consulting provides its clients first-hand, real-time, and in-depth market intelligence.