CHINA’S EXPERIENCE ON REACHING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Discussion Paper
CHINA, THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AND THE
POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
United Nations Development Programme China
February 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of, and should not be
attributed to, the United Nations Development Programme.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................................. 1
PART 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3
THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ................................................................................................................................................................... 3
THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
CHINA’S ROLE IN THE POST-2015 PROCESS ................................................................................................................................................................ 4

PART 2: HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SO MANY GOALS?....................................................................... 5
RAPID ECONOMIC EXPANSION COUPLED WITH GRADUAL REFORMS ...................................................................................................................... 5
A PROACTIVE, DEVELOPMENT-ORIENTED GOVERNMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 7
National Goal Setting ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Aligning National Goals with MDGs .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Progressive Domestic Resource Mobilisation........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Investments in Physical and Social Infrastructures ........................................................................................................................................... 9
CHINA’S SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT .......................................................................................................................................................... 9

PART 3: CHINA’S KEY REMAINING DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES ................................................. 10
INEQUALITY .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
INTEGRATING CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12

PART 4: WHAT CAN OTHER COUNTRIES LEARN FROM CHINA TO INFORM THE POST 2015
DEVELOPMENT AGENDA? .................................................................................................................... 13
ENABLING HUMAN CAPABILITIES............................................................................................................................................................................... 13
GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILIZATION..................................................................................................... 13
UNIVERSAL SOCIAL PROTECTION ............................................................................................................................................................................... 13
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY............................................................................................................................................................................ 14

PART 5: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 14
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................... 15

CHINA’S EXPERIENCE ON REACHING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SUMMARY
In 2015, the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will expire and be replaced by a new globally agreed post-2015
development paradigm. China has made enormous progress in meeting the MDGs. Since China has a fifth of the world’s
population, this means that China’s progress has greatly contributed to the achievement of the MDGs globally. Yet between 510% of China’s population remains in poverty, and China will suffer the effects of climate change and other global issues. As
such, the new development paradigm will require China’s active support and participation. In addition, China’s experience can
be shared with other developing countries to help promote sustainable human development for all.
This UNDP China Discussion Paper is largely based on national consultations and workshops on the post-MDGs agenda held in
China since 2012. It examines the approaches that China adopted in its attainment of certain MDGs, and identifies the domestic
contexts in which such changes took place. It assesses some of the successes and challenges that China encountered in achieving
some of the MDGs. While the circumstances that helped China meet some of the MDGs are unlikely to be entirely replicable
elsewhere in the world, there are experiences that can be shared from China’s development. Based on the lessons learned from
the Chinese experience, the final section of this report addresses some issues to consider in developing a new set of global
development goals post-2015.
The Chinese experience – unprecedented achievements, some challenges
China has made significant efforts in realizing the MDGs’ overall purpose of addressing the multi-dimensional nature of poverty
and focusing on sustainable and equitable wellbeing. Statistics show that, over a relatively short time span starting from China’s
reform and opening-up since late 1970s, China has substantially reduced extreme poverty, infant, child and maternal mortality
rates; increased access to primary and secondary education; and made important gains in gender equality and combating
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. This means that millions of people now have a steady supply of healthy food, safe
drinking water, reliable shelter, and sanitation facilities. It also means that boys and girls have equal opportunities to receive
education from the primary level to university, which can lead to better jobs and steady income for their families.
A set of three unique circumstances has provided China with the conditions necessary for high economic growth, new social
programmes, and infrastructure investment. However, China still faces significant development challenges, especially in the
areas of gender and regional inequalities, urbanization, combating HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability, addressing
water and air pollution. Integrating non-government actors in the development process could also be helpful in addressing these
challenges and merits further consideration. A universal and more comprehensive post-2015 agenda could therefore be a useful
catalyst for China to address these remaining challenges.
Lessons from the Chinese experience – how did China do it?




China’s rapid economic growth – a key enabling factor to the country’s efforts in reaching the MDGs – has been achieved
through its gradual but targeted reform and opening up of the economy that began with the shift from a centrally planned
economy to a market-based economy. Pilots – such as the special economic zones – were a crucial set of instruments for
China to implement its gradual approach of economic reforms.
Achieving national-level development goals requires the active support of a strong government that focuses on growth
and development. It is important for governments to be committed, strategic and forward-looking so as to balance the
short-term and long-term interests of the population.
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

Progressive domestic resource mobilization, in particular the steady increase in government revenue that have been on
pace with economic growth in the past 20 years, was key in allowing sufficient resources to be directed toward sectors
within the economy that are instrumental for sustaining growth.
Economic growth was necessary but not sufficient for poverty reduction. Development was also underpinned by
improvements in physical infrastructure as well as human capital formation and investment in livelihoods, which were
made easier to achieve by China’s declining birth rates, but also guaranteed through relevant law and rules established
and enforced by the government (e.g. China’s 10-year Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Outlines).



Lessons from China suggest that a universal post-2015 development agenda should, inter alia, prioritise:






Creating an enabling environment for human capabilities;
Government commitment and high administrative efficacy and focus at all levels;
Inclusive policies focused on mitigating inequalities of outcome (e.g. progressive domestic resource mobilization,
health, etc.) and opportunity (e.g. enabling employment policies, fair access to the legal system, etc.);
Universal social protection, including social safety nets;
Balancing economic growth, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability.

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CHINA’S EXPERIENCE ON REACHING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
The Millennium Development Goals
The MDGs encapsulate the eight international development goals officially established following the 2000 Millennium Summit
of the United Nations (UN). In signing the Millennium Declaration, all 189 UN member states at the time committed to a new
global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and set out a series of time-bound targets for each goal, with a base year of 1990
and a deadline of 2015.1 The eight goals consist of: reduce poverty and hunger; achieving universal primary education; promoting
gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria
and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
Preliminary results have been encouraging. The number of
people living in extreme poverty has fallen in every
developing region, including sub-Saharan Africa. The
proportion of people living on less than $1.25 per day fell
in 2010 to less than half the 1990 rate, and over 2.3 billion
people gained access to improved drinking water sources
between 1990 and 2012. The share of slum dwellers in
urban areas declined from 39.3 percent in 2000 to 32.7
percent in 2012. This drop has improved the lives of at least
100 million people. Other progresses include gains in
gender parity in primary education, a decline in levels of
child mortality, a downward trend of tuberculosis and
global malaria deaths and an expansion of treatment for
HIV sufferers.
However, there are impediments to achieving all the MDGs by 2015. Research shows that recent natural disasters and the global
financial crisis have slowed progress. While some data has suggested that income inequality between countries are narrowing,
within-country inequality persists and has worsened in some cases.2 Hunger remains a global challenge. The United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 850 million people, or 15.5 percent of the global population, were living in
hunger in 2006-2008. Additionally, progress has also been slow in reducing child under-nutrition, with 30 percent of children in
Southern Asia deemed underweight in 2012.
The Post-2015 Development Agenda
The Post-2015 Development Agenda aims to help define the future global development framework that will succeed the MDGs.
Launched at the 2010 High-Level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly, the process draws on the values and principles
in the Millennium Declaration and on a thorough, broad-based and inclusive review of the MDGs, which should be put in the
context of the global development challenges ahead, as the starting point for the discussion of a new development agenda beyond
2015.
The 2011 Annual Report of the Secretary-General Accelerating progress towards the MDGs: Options for sustained and inclusive
growth and issues for advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015 lays out the broad principles of the post-

1
2

Except for Goal 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability), which has some target years set in 2010 or 2020.
For more information, please see Lakner and Milanovic (2013)

Page 3

2015 process.3 These include the need to foster an inclusive, open and transparent consultation process with multi-stakeholder
participation, including civil society, academia, private sector, and government actors, and to use established global, regional
and national mechanisms and processes to ensure that such deliberations incorporate the lessons learned and experiences from
all stakeholders.
The UN System Task Team was established by the UN Secretary-General to support system-wide preparations for the post-2015
development agenda, in consultation with all stakeholders. The Task Team provided analytical inputs, expertise and outreach to
support the multi-stakeholder consultations led by Member States on the post-2015 global development agenda. It also mobilized
more than 60 UN entities and agencies, and international organizations.4
In July 2012, the Secretary-General appointed a High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the post-2015 development agenda. In
May 2013, the Panel submitted their report, which provided recommendations regarding their vision on the post-2015
development agenda, key principles for reshaping the global partnership for development and strengthening accountability
mechanisms.
Also in 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) launched an intergovernmental Open
Working Group (OWG) to develop a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Group, consisting of 30 UN member
country representatives nominated by different regions, commenced its work in September 2013 and produced an outcome
document of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to the General Assembly during its 68th session.
The Rio+20 Conference also mandated the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable
Development Financing (ICESDF) to prepare a report proposing options on an effective financing strategy to facilitate the
mobilization of resources and their effective use in achieving sustainable development objectives. The final report suggested a
basket of policy measures encompassing a "tool kit" of policy options, regulations, institutions, programs and instruments, from
which governments can choose appropriate combinations. The experts recommended a cohesive, strategic approach based on the
principle of country ownership and supported by a strengthened global partnership for sustainable development.
Incorporating the outcomes of various processes on the post-2015 development agenda, the Secretary-General released his
synthesis report, titled ‘The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet” in
December 2014 as an input to the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. The report reemphasized the need for the 17 global goals recommended by the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals,
while also introducing a set of essential elements as a means to address the challenges of communicating the global framework.
China’s role in the post-2015 process
China’s inclusion in the post-2015 agenda is critical to the formulation of a genuinely inclusive and global approach to
development after the MDGs. Given China’s success in meeting most of the MDGs, its experience as a recipient of development
aid, and its growing role as provider of development assistance to other developing countries, China has assumed a more active
role in the post-2015 process than it did when the MDGs were formulated in 2000. With UNDP support, national consultations,
which adopted a bottom-up, participatory approach with more than 75% of the participants coming from social organizations,
were held in Kunming and Beijing in December 2012 and March 2013, respectively. The discussions were wide-ranging and
focuses on six key areas: poverty reduction and inclusive growth; environmental and green development policy; global health;
women and children; education; and international cooperation. The High Level Panel included a representative from China. In
September 2013, China released an official position paper on the post-2015 development agenda, which identified the parameters
of China’s position. These include:5

3

This report is available at http://www.ipc-undp.org/pressroom/files/ipc629.pdf
For more information about the UN System Task Team, please visit http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/
5
The full text of the position Paper is available at http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zgyw/t1078984.htm
4

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




A focus on poverty reduction, setting realistic goals, and completing the incomplete MDGs.
While universal, Africa and least developed countries are highlighted as the primary beneficiaries of a post-2015
framework.
States have “common-but-differentiated responsibilities” to support global development. This is linked to China’s belief
that North-South cooperation should continue to serve as the main channel for development financing and act as a
complement to South-South cooperation.
Developing countries must have full ownership over their development agendas and different models of development
must be respected.

Perspectives from China on the post-2015 development agenda were also conveyed through the United Nations Development
Group (UNDG)’s 'MY World” global survey, which collected responses from over 1 million people around the globe. Based on
the responses from Chinese participants, top priorities were identified as the following 7 areas: better healthcare, good education,
honest and responsive government, protecting environment, access to clean water and sanitation, affordable and nutritious food,
better job opportunities.

PART 2: HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SO MANY GOALS?
China has made great progress in achieving the MDGs, as documented in its most recent MDG report6. The progress China has
made in achieving the MDGs has taken place within a very specific domestic context. China’s economic strength and social
setting are two key aspects of China’s success that are unlikely to be entirely replicable elsewhere. China’s success in achieving
specific MDGs and performing well overall can be primarily attributed to three related factors: 1) a rapidly expanding but
managed economy; 2) a proactive, development-oriented government; and 3) a particular social and demographic setting.
Rapid Economic Expansion Coupled with Gradual Reforms
Rapid economic growth is, perhaps unsurprisingly, one of the biggest factors that have helped China perform so well in many of
the MDG indicators. A large body of research has shown that economic growth is a significant factor in reducing poverty.
Provision of public services also tends to improve as the level of economic development progresses.
As shown in Table 1 (below), the per capita nominal income in China increased five-fold between 1990 and 2000, from US$
200 to US$ 1,000. Between 2000 and 2010, per capita income also rose by the same rate, from US$ 1,000 to 5,000, moving
China into the ranks of middle-income countries.7 Also, during 1990-2005, China lifted 470 million people out of extreme
poverty, contributing to 76.09 percent of poverty reduction in the world over the same period of time. 8
China’s rapid economic growth was achieved through the gradual but targeted reform and opening up of the economy that began
with the shift from a centrally planned economy to a market-based economy in 1978. During this time, China re-oriented its
development strategy, initially by de-collectivising agriculture, and then by prioritizing export-led growth strategies. In 1980,
four “special economic zones” (SEZs) were created in the southern part of the country, which were economic enclaves in which
the government could experiment with trade liberalization and other economic policies that included the attraction of foreign
direct investment (FDI). Based on the lessons learned from these zones, China gradually opened up other coastal areas, border
cities, and the capital cities of inland provinces and autonomous regions to FDI. Economic expansion accelerated dramatically

6

See http://www.undg.org/docs/13343/China's-Progress-Towards-the-Millenium-Development-Goals-2013-Report.pdf

According to the World Bank, China’s GDP per capita (current USD) is $1,042 in 2001 and $5,445 in 2011.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD
8
China’s Progress Towards the Millennium Development Goals 2013 Report, prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of
China and the United Nations System in China; available at http://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/library/mdg/mdgs-report-2013/
7

Page 5

in the 1990s as a result of large-scale privatisation, the opening up of the whole country to FDI, and the initiation of China’s
“going global” policy, which provided incentives for Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to invest overseas.
The gradual approach that China took is crucial to its reforms. There was no clear blueprint or orientation at the beginning of the
“reform and opening up” process. A quintessential example of this gradual approach is the introduction of the dual resource
allocation and pricing mechanism, which allows the coexistence of the planned and market economic systems at the same time.
Before the reform in late 1970s, resources were allocated according to central planning. After the initiation of the reforms, SOEs
were allowed to retain 12 percent of their additional profit and use the profit to buy what they wanted, including goods outside
the central plan. The firms were also allowed to sell their extra products above the government-mandated quota, which in turn
incentivized them to produce more. In addition, they were allowed to engage in production of goods outside the central plan at
market-based prices (which were typically higher than the prices of the products in the plan). As such, market-based allocation
and pricing thus emerged on both the demand and the supply sides. In the end, the market was finally fully liberalized and set all
prices in the early 1990s, except for a few items such as water and electricity. The gradual reform results in considerable success.
The SOEs’ productivity was enhanced significantly after the reform, increased from its pre-reform levels of 0.5 percent – or even
as low as -1.0 percent – to 2.4 percent. On the other hand, the output share of the SOEs in the industry also declined notably,
from over 75 percent in 1978, to 25 percent in 2000.9
The gradual approach reduced the risk of dramatic changes in the economy, where such risk could lead to bankruptcy of many
of the SOEs at that time. While the SOEs were highly inefficient (and still less efficient than that their private counterparts up to
this day), they nevertheless played an indispensable role in the country as their products were closely related to people’s
livelihood or to national security. At the same time, they were also major employers in the country. Their bankruptcy would lead
to a large number of workers unemployed, considerably hampering economic growth and creating social tensions.
A crucial set of instruments that China use to implement its gradual reform is the many pilots (such as the SEZs) that the country
has been engaging in since the reform and opening up. These pilots allow the central and local governments to experiment
unproven policy interventions, before implementing them in large scale. In the case of the special economic zones, they served
as a laboratory where different methods aimed at overcoming drawbacks of a central planning system could be developed. New
concept and means that originate in a market economy environment could be first tested in the zones. Should these measures
prove to be effective and successful in the SEZs, they could then be extended to the rest of the country if feasible. 10 Pilots are
still being widely used to this date in China, ranging from the Free Trade Zone at Shanghai – a test ground for full convertibility
of China’s currency (RMB), a market-based interest rate mechanism, a loosened customary intervention and a wider range of
businesses open to overseas investors – to the emissions trading scheme pilots at selected Chinese provinces and cities.

Table 3. Summary of Economic and Demographic Indicators in China, 1990-2013

Year
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
9

Nominal
GDP
(100
Million
RMB)
18,667.82
21,781.50
26,923.48
35,333.92
48,197.86

Nominal
GDP per
capita
(RMB)
1,644.47
1,892.76
2,311.09
2,998.36
4,044.00

Government
Revenue
(100 Million
RMB)
2,937.1
3,149.48
3,483.37
4,348.95
5,218.1

Government
Revenue’s
Share of
GDP(%)
15.73
14.46
12.94
12.31
10.83

Population
(Unit:
10,000)
114333
115823
117171
118517
119850

Number of
Births
(Unit:
10,000)
2391
2258
2119
2126
2104

CPI
(last year
= 100)
103.1
103.4
106.4
114.7
124.1

For more details of China’s reform process, please refer to Lin (2012).
For more discussions on China’s special economic zones and their roles in the reform and opening up process, please refer to Ge (1999).

10

Page 6

Real GDP
at 1990
prices (100
Million
RMB)
18,667.82
21,065.28
24,471.98
28,000.53
30,777.29

1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013

60,793.73
71,176.59
78,973.03
84,402.28
89,677.05
99,214.55
109,655.17
120,332.69
135,822.76
159,878.34
184,937.37
216,314.43
265,810.31
314,045.43
340,902.81
401,512.80
473,104.05
519,470.10
568,845.21

5,045.73
5,845.89
6,420.18
6,796.03
7,158.50
7,857.68
8,621.71
9,398.05
10,541.97
12,335.58
14,185.36
16,499.70
20,169.46
23,707.71
25,607.53
30,015.05
35,197.79
38,459.47
41,907.59

6,242.2
7,407.99
8,651.14
9,875.95
11,444.08
13,395.23
16,386.04
18,903.64
21,715.25
26,396.47
31,649.29
38,760.2
51,321.78
61,330.35
68,518.3
83,101.51
103,874.43
117,253.52
129,209.64

10.27
10.41
10.95
11.70
12.76
13.50
14.94
15.71
15.99
16.51
17.11
17.92
19.31
19.53
20.10
20.70
21.96
22.57
22.71

121121
122389
123626
124761
125786
126743
127627
128453
129227
129988
130756
131448
132129
132802
133450
134091
134735
135404
136072

2063
2067
2038
1942
1834
1771
1702
1647
1599
1593
1617
1584
1594
1608
1615
1596
1604
1635
N/A

117.1
108.3
102.8
99.2
98.6
100.4
100.7
99.2
101.2
103.9
101.8
101.5
104.8
105.9
99.3
103.3
105.4
102.6
102.6

33,151.60
35,838.88
38,681.47
41,674.14
44,907.29
49,485.42
54,312.71
60,082.00
67,012.03
75,919.67
86,266.38
99,411.43
116,563.18
130,042.73
142,159.19
162,085.22
181,200.79
193,917.33
206,967.81

Source: Data on GDP, Government Revenue & Total Population & CPI from National Bureau of Statistics of China. Retrieved on 1/2/2015 from
http://data.stats.gov.cn/workspace/index?m=hgnd; Data on Number of Births from China Civil Affairs' Statistical Yearbook 2013

A Proactive, Development-oriented Government
Based on the notion of a “xiaokang” society (a moderately prosperous society), in which the growth of a prosperous middle class
underpins nationwide economic and social development, China’s government has played an active role in planning and managing
China’s economic growth. An extensive government apparatus reaching from central to local governments has made the
implementation, monitoring, and realization of clearly defined development goals possible.
National Goal Setting
China has long followed a tradition of national development strategies. Even though the planned economic system was
abandoned in the late 1970s, the tradition of national goal setting for development has continued. This allowed the government
to regularly make deliberate policy adjustments and reorientations, while moving towards its vision of a xiaokang society. It also
allowed the government to gradually shift the economy from a mostly growth driven approach to an inclusive growth model,
which increased investments in poor regions of the country. The 12th Five-year Plan, which will expire in 2015, was formulated
in 2010, with the goals of addressing rising inequality and creating an environment for more sustainable growth by prioritizing
more equitable wealth distribution, increased domestic consumption, and improved social infrastructure and social safety nets,
among others. At the moment, the 13th Five-year Plan (for 2016-2020) is being formulated and it is expected that the plan will
focus on pushing forward structural reforms, simplifying administrative process to encourage a more vibrant market, advancing
technological progress and innovation, facilitating job creation by the public, and further promoting openness, among others.
Efficiency, equity, and sustainability are the key development concepts that have been guiding the formulation process, led by
the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), i.e. China’s influential planning commission.

Page 7

Aligning National Goals with MDGs
One key reason for China’s success in achieving some of the MDGs ahead of schedule is the congruence between many of the
MDGs with those of China’s national goals, including reducing poverty, eliminating hunger, increasing education and improving
health. The Chinese government’s accountability to deliver concrete results on its national goals played an important role in
reaching the MDGs focused on eradicating poverty, improving basic health conditions, and providing universal education. For
example, China’s 10-year Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Outlines – the current one covering the time period of
2011-2020 – identify, among others, the specific objectives of China’s poverty reduction efforts in multiple development aspects,
target beneficiaries of such efforts, and the basic principles that government agencies should adhere to while engaging in poverty
reduction. Accountability for the goals set at the national level falls on officials from every level of government. This has ensured
that the process of achieving the MDGs in China is result-oriented, backed up by considerable political will.
Discussion around the MDGs may have also encouraged China to set goals and allocate resources around those areas targeted
by the MDGs. Initially, for China, goals such as combating HIV/AIDS, environmental protection, and international aid appeared
to be a lesser priority. However, China’s economic success strengthens its ability to address challenges in other development
areas, where some of them witness worsening conditions since the early years of the reform and opening process. In this light,
governments of all levels have been increasingly highlighting the need for equitable development, attention to environmental
protection, and support for a smooth-running international trade environment.
Progressive Domestic Resource Mobilisation
An important component of China’s efforts to promote poverty reduction through economic growth was the mobilization of
domestic resources, including taxes, remittances, and other revenues generated by savings and investments from households and
domestic firms in a very progressive manner (i.e. high income households and firms were taxed progressively more as a
proportion of their income than lower income households and firms). This created revenues that the government could direct into
sectors of the economy targeted for growth. In the first decade of the 21st century, government revenue as a share of GDP
increased at the same rate as overall GDP growth.11 Government revenue as a share of GDP rose in the 2000s from mostly below
15 percent to 22 percent. As a result, by 2013, the size of the Chinese government’s revenue was almost as large as the total size
of China’s GDP a decade ago in 2003.
The revenue-to-GDP ratio (and also the shares of central revenue in total government revenue) however was not always on an
upward trend. In fact, the ratio decreased in the early years of China’s reform and opening up, up to the year 1994. To reverse
this downward trend, the government implemented a major tax reform in late 1994, which shifted the model of revenue collection
and distribution from a negotiated basis to a mix of rule-based tax assignments and tax sharing; enacted a new value-added tax;
and put the State Administration of Taxation in charge of collecting central and shared taxes (shared between central and local
governments), while leaving the collection of local taxes as the responsibility of local government agencies. These 1994 reforms
moved China toward a more centralized tax revenue collection mechanism, and brought the country’s intergovernmental fiscal
system closer to international practice.12
Another contributing factor to the steady rise of the government revenue since 1995 (and its progressivity) was the minimal
adjustment that China made to its income tax law, which remained relatively intact since its creation in 1980. Nominal income
brackets and marginal tax rates applied to both wage and non-wage incomes remained largely unchanged over the years. The
only major change was that the nominal exemption threshold for wage earners rose at a rate substantially lower than that of
nominal income growth. The results of such minimal changes to the income tax schedule were that Chinese income tax revenues,
as a share of GDP, increased from less than 0.1 percent in 1986 to about over 1.5 percent in 2005 and 2.5 percent in 2008. The

11
12

See Table 3.
For more discussions on the evolution of China’s tax reforms, please refer to Lou and Wang (2008).

Page 8

fraction of the Chinese population subject to the income tax also increased from less than 0.1 percent in 1986 to about 20 percent
by 2008.13
Strong domestic resource mobilization has allowed the Chinese government to direct resources and investment, and monitor
their use, in line with its own development goals and those of the MDGs. It also led to a series of further progressive policies
such as abolishing agricultural taxes (2006), mandating public funding for nine-year compulsory education (2006), establishing
the new rural health care insurance scheme (2003)14, and establishing the new rural old age pension scheme (2009).15
Investments in Physical and Social Infrastructures
The rapid expansion of the government’s fiscal capacity allowed for massive investments in physical and social infrastructures,
which underpinned the success of China’s export-led growth strategy and domestic poverty reduction efforts. Significant
investment in physical infrastructure – roads, high-speed railways, airports, energy, communication networks and social
infrastructure – education, and social welfare provisions such as health care and pensions – has contributed to more efficient
resource allocation, increased economic output, and improvements in the overall wellbeing of the Chinese population. As social
infrastructure grew, an increased access to education made primary education a reality for all junior middle school age students
(nine-year compulsory education). The Chinese government created an enabling condition for improving access to education
through amending the Compulsory Education Law in 2006 (the original law took effect in 1986), which further emphasizes the
importance of providing equitable access to school-age children regardless of their gender, ethnicity, etc, confirm the institutional
arrangement for funding compulsory education, and establish a monitoring mechanism for compulsory education. Funding
responsibilities between the central and local governments are also further clarified to ensure that education funding, particularly
for rural areas, was secured.
China’s Social and Demographic Context
China’s progress in meeting most of the MDGs has also been facilitated by a decrease in population growth, which is a result of
deliberate government policies and natural consequence of economic growth and poverty reduction. In the 1980s, China’s birth
rate level was already below the replacement level of 2.1 children per couple. Since 1990, China has had a consistently low birth
rate and the current level is only at 1.58 children per couple. In 2012, the number of annual births was 16.35 million, which is
30 percent fewer than that in 1990 (the 2000 figure was 17.71 million). In addition to impressive economic growth and the strong
role of the government, such demographic circumstances have also facilitated China’s progress in achieving some of the MDGs.
This less observed factor had an influence in China’s progress in rates of child mortality, education and employment.
Fewer births have led to a series of rippling effects: fewer birth deliveries, fewer primary school students, and fewer young
people entering the job market. In 2008, 50 percent of all Chinese primary schools were closed down, largely due to the drastic
decline in student age population. With regards to the MDGs, reducing child mortality and expanding education was therefore
achieved sooner with fewer children to support and increased financial resources. In addition, although the main driver for

For more discussions on China’s income tax schedule, please refer to Piketty and Qian (2009). For comparison, the authors show that in the case of India,
constant adaptation of exemption levels and income brackets has caused the government revenue to remain around 0.5 percent of GDP, and only 2-3
percent of the Indian population is subject to income tax.
14
The scheme (xinnonghe) by 2012 increased coverage to almost all rural residents (98 percent), with increased government input (in 2013, 280 RMB per
person annually from the government, with individual contribution at 60 RMB). Overall pay-out rate from the insurance scheme is at around 50 percent.
Starting 2013, 20 illnesses listed under “catastrophic illnesses” can receive up to 90 percent reimbursement for treatment. Source: National Health and
Family Planning Commission, available at http://www.npfpc.gov.cn/was5/web/search
15
Experiment in 10 percent of rural counties began in 2009, with a target of full coverage of eligible rural population nationwide by 2020. This is an
individual account system with public subsidy. Currently, individual annual contribution is set with five categories, from 100 RMB to 500 RMB.
Cumulative contribution to the system of 15 years makes one eligible for receiving pension, for which the current rate is 55 RMB per month. Source: State
Council’s report “Guowuyuan Guanyu Kaizhan Xinxing Nongcun Shehui Yanglao Baoxian Shidian de Zhidaoyijian” (State Council’s recommendations on
implementation of the New Rural Old-age Pension system pilots), 2009.
http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2009-09/04/content_1409216.htm
13

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employment opportunities has been China’s strong economy, lower birth rates mean that less young people enter the labour
market and renders full employment easier to achieve.
China’s drop in fertility rates is often attributed to the government’s One Child Policy, a set of demographic goals enunciated in
1980 in support of the economic development goals advanced by the Chinese leadership. These goals included a total population
of 1.2 billion by 2000 and a population growth rate of zero, supported by concrete measures of restricting 95 percent of urban
couples and 90 percent of rural couples to having only one child.16
However, one should note that China’s fertility rate had already fallen from 5.8 births per woman in 1970 to 2.8 births per woman
in 1980, meaning it was more or less halved before the one-child policy took effect. Furthermore, a growing economy naturally
tends to create wealthier and more educated people that choose to have fewer children, as such trajectories can be observed
across the world.17 In any case, while the dropping fertility rate may have lessened the strain on social services, it has also created
challenges for the Chinese government, including a shrinking labour force, an inversion of the age pyramid that will put a strain
on a smaller generation of children and taxpayers, and unbalanced sex ratios at birth.18 In view of these challenges, the Chinese
government announced their plan to relax the One-Child Policy in recent years. A major feature of the reform is that families
can have two children if one parent is an only child.

PART 3: CHINA’S KEY REMAINING DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES
While China’s achievement in reaching the MDGs is commendable in many aspects, it remains a developing country with over
80 million people still living in extreme poverty (exact numbers vary depending on the poverty line used). At the same time, the
country is quickly urbanizing, with its population also aging at a rapid pace. On urbanization, 310 million people are expected
to move to cities in the next 20 years, creating considerable challenges to sustainable development of cities. 19 In terms of the
demographics, the labor force is expected to peak in 2015 and it is estimated that over one-third of the Chinese population will
be over 60 by the year 2050, resulting in high dependency rates.20 However, there are three significant structural challenges that
need to be overcome in order to address the above issues of urbanization and aging and to ensure that China’s achievements are
not reversed. These challenges are mitigating the effects of rapid economic expansion on income and regional inequalities,
preventing further environmental degradation, and integrating civil society actors into the development process.
Inequality
While economic growth is an important means of improving people’s livelihood as it creates jobs and opportunities for poor
people to support their families and build more stable futures, it is not sufficient as an indicator of poverty reduction. The extent
to which growth contributes to poverty reduction depends critically on the distribution of resources and opportunities that growth
brings to individuals and households, especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. For instance, while GDP growth rates
are a good indicator of the overall development of a country’s economy, they do not reflect income inequalities among regions,
across the rural-urban spectrum, and between genders.

16

For more discussion on the One Child Policy, please refer to Wang, Cai and Gu (2013).
South Korea, for instance, had a fertility rate similar to China’s in 1979, at 2.9 children per woman. In 2008, it dropped to 1.2. Thailand’s fertility
dropped from 3.6 in 1979 to 1.8 now. Brazil’s fertility rate was 4.2 in 1979. In 2008, it was 1.9.
18
Gross, 2014.
19 Source: Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and UNDP China. China National Human Development
Report 2013: Sustainable and Liveable Cities: Toward Ecological Civilization. http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/sustainable-and-liveable-cities-towardecological-civilization
20 Source: United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: 2010 Revision.
17

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In this light, while the official data indicates that China’s Gini Coefficient for income inequality is improving from its 2008 peak
of 0.491, it still remains at a relatively high level of 0.473 in 2013.21 It is now expected that the country’s income inequality is
reaching a somewhat steady state, but comprehensive government interventions, including improvement of primary distribution
and redistribution policies, acceleration of household registration reforms, and deepening of rural land reform, among others,
will be crucial to move China’s Gini Coefficient below the international warning line of 0.4. With respect to wealth inequality,
data shows that China’s Gini coefficient for wealth distribution was 0.73 in 2013, increased from 0.45 in 1995. The report shows
that the top 1 % of Chinese households holds 1/3 of total assets, while the bottom 25% holds only one percent.22
This high level of income inequality persists despite the government’s effort to reduce inequalities through measures such as
progressive taxation and social security systems. Urban inequality – epitomized by the gap between the migrant workers and
other urban residents – is particularly severe. Hundreds of millions of rural people have moved into cities with the hopes of
improving their lives, but their entitlements to basic social welfare such as health care, old age support, and housing are still in
question because of the “hukou” (household registration) issue. Their hardship is increased by the unprecedented rise in urban
housing prices, most notable in China’s large cities, which has made it difficult for migrant workers to afford decent housing.
This reality can render them likely candidates for urban slum dwellings. Urban-rural and regional income inequalities, which are
largely a result of China’s focus on developing the coastal provinces in the 1980s and 1990s, also contribute to the overall
inequality.
In recent year, inequality has rightfully shaped up to be a prominent issue on the Chinese leadership’s agenda.23 It is of utmost
importance to address inequality given the increasing evidence based on cross-country analyses that points to the negative
correlation between inequality and economic growth, while economic growth – as mentioned earlier – is one of the biggest reason
behind China’s strong performance in reaching the MDGs.
With respect to non-income well-being dimensions, cross-country regression analyses by UNDP show that income levels and
economic growth are not significant drivers of inequalities in education, health, and nutrition outcomes. That is, there is no
automatic positive relationship between economic growth and within-country equality in education, health and nutrition
outcomes. 24 On the other hand, the same analysis shows that distribution of income between household do appear to have
statistically significant impact on equality in education, health and nutrition outcomes, along with other significant drivers,
including governance, social spending and social norms. In other words, addressing income inequality is crucial to promoting
equality in other dimensions of wellbeing. On the other hand, failure to address income inequality would also risk leading to
worsening inequality in other development dimensions, in particular health and education.
Environmental Issues
Environmental issues, including principally water, soil, and air pollution, and related food safety concerns, are some of the most
pressing side effects arising from China’s rapid economic growth. China’s investment-heavy and export-oriented growth model
has relied on the use of massive volumes of energy resources –primarily coal- and raw materials, which has had significantly
negative impact on the environment. Since 2000 China alone has accounted for two-thirds of the global growth in carbon-dioxide
emissions and is now the world’s biggest carbon emitters. It is also estimated that the costs of environmental degradation and
resource depletion in China approached 10 % of GDP over the past decade – air pollution accounted for 6.5 %, water pollution
2.1 % and soil degradation 1.1 %.25

National Bureau of Statistics. 20 January 2014. China’s Economy Showed Good Momentum of Steady Growth in the Year of 2013.
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/201401/t20140120_502079.html
22
Caixin. 4 August 2014. One Percent Has One Third of China's Wealth, Research Shows. http://english.caixin.com/2014-08-04/100712733.html
23
The Turning Period of China’s Income Distribution: An Impact Assessment on Income Distribution-related Policies in China (2012), China
Development Research Foundation.
24
For more related discussions, please refer to UNDP (2013).
25
World Bank. 2013. China 2030: building a modern, harmonious, and creative society. Washington, DC: World Bank.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/03/17494829/china-2030-building-modern-harmonious-creative-society
21

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The Chinese government is making efforts to combat the negative environmental consequences of its development success. It
established the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2008 (replacing the State Environmental Protection Administration),
and in 2012, it adopted a policy of “Ecological Civilization” that aims to promote economic development underpinned by green
development, low-carbon development, and to balance industrial development with sustainable development. As a result, China
has issued a host of environmental rules and regulations for domestic companies, the implementation of which needs to be strictly
enforced. Today it attracts the world’s largest investment in clean energy. 26
The Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform that came out from the 3 rd Plenum of the 18th
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2013, together with some of the earlier government documents, has
reinforced that environmental sustainability is an integral part of China’s new development strategy.27 A new environmental
protection law was put into effect on 1 January 2015, which is considered much stronger than its earlier versions. In particular,
the change in performance evaluations for local officials to include environmental and not just economic performance, the
potentially substantial increase in fines and punishment for non-compliance, the expansion of citizen and social organizations’
rights to information, consultation and public interest litigation, and environmental impact assessment on plans and policies as
well as projects, have all been cited as reason to hope that this new law could have significant impact on halting the degradation
of China’s environment. On the other hand, in addition to making substantial investment and significant progress in reforestation
and clean energy, China has also established concrete goals and is working to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP.28 It
should also be noted that in a historical joint announcement with the United States, China pledged in November 2014 to achieve
the peaking of the country’s carbon emission around 2030, and increase the proportion of non-fossil fuel energy in the overall
mix to 20% by 2030, injecting fresh momentum into the global effort to address climate change.29
As China transitions to a more sustainable mode of development, it will require new perspectives on and a comprehensive
understanding of interrelationships between economic, social and environmental costs and benefits, including with other
countries, so as not to “export” the problem of sustainability to others. Since these three are inextricably linked, responses to
them need to be well coordinated.
Integrating Civil Society Actors
In addition to the aforementioned challenges in inequality and the environment, the integration of previously underemphasized
actors could have greater importance in addressing these obstacles looking ahead and presents itself as a challenge on its own.
Government – no matter how efficient – still has its own limitations. While the Chinese government has helped China achieve
significant progress, government intervention has presented new challenges for Chinese society. In a number of areas, such as
combating HIV/AIDS and environmental protection, the government working alone only solves part of the problem. The
mobilization and participation of all sectors of the society, including civil society organizations and the direct participation of
the population, can be very helpful and effective. For example, public participation can help with agenda and goal setting, and
contributes to effective intervention with HIV/AIDs programmes by addressing behavioral changes and social stigmas. It can
also help to monitor the progress made in combating HIV/AIDS and to raise the awareness of air pollution and the like. All these
exemplify the indispensable role of civil society. Encouragingly, the role of civil society and volunteer-based organizations in
this domain has gradually increased over the past decade in China, and they are particularly active in the fields of public
education, intervention, treatment and care.

26

Source: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/04/03/whos-winning-the-clean-energy-race-2013
Full text of The Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform is available at
http://www.china.org.cn/china/third_plenary_session/2014-01/16/content_31212602.htm. China unveils its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on
Environmental Protection, China Briefing, December, 2011. http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2011/12/23/china-unveils-12th-five-year-plan-onenvironmental-protection.html;
28
Source: China Unveils Its 12th Five-year Plan on Environmental Protection, China Briefing, February, 2013. http://www.chinabriefing.com/news/2013/02/06/china-releases-12th-five-year-plan-for-energy-development.html
29
The full text of the joint announcement is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/11/us-china-joint-announcement-climatechange
27

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PART 4: WHAT CAN OTHER COUNTRIES LEARN FROM CHINA TO
INFORM THE POST 2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA?
China and the world are at a new turning point in history. Globally, the achievements in working toward meeting the MDGs
have significantly improved the lives of billions of people. Perhaps equally important to the concrete achievements that have
been made is the increased global awareness of the agenda, and the pressure generated for national and global leaders to live up
to the expectations of the world’s citizens. The arrival of the information age has connected all corners of the world more than
ever before, opening up debate and mobilizing its citizens to strive for the common good. China’s participation and remarkable
successes in the MDGs have given indispensable support, both in ideal and in reality, to the historical global project.
Any new global initiative or a set of new global goals after 2015 will require the active support and participation of China, both
as a country with the largest share of the world’s population, and as the second largest economy in the world (or the largest in
purchasing power parity terms). In addition, formulation of the post-2015 goals can draw on China’s experiences in development
and poverty reduction. This is particularly useful because China straddles developing and developed countries in many ways.
Enabling Human Capabilities
China’s success in reducing poverty and working towards achieving the MDGs relied most importantly on the changes within
the country that allowed people to unleash their capabilities and to realize their dreams. Likewise, a new set of goals should focus
on ways to enable human capabilities both in China and around the world. In this regard, targets to ensure basic health and
education, with special attention to gender equality remain important.
Government Commitment
While some of China’s previous policies may not be applicable to many other countries, China’s political commitment to poverty
reduction has meant that strong institutions are in place from the top to the bottom of the political system. Effectively, the Chinese
government has publicly committed to improving the wellbeing of its people. In addition, China has a very concrete, predictable
national planning process, so it is being held accountable to that goal. The high administrative efficacy and focus that Chinese
governments of different levels have displayed in promoting particularly poverty alleviation, primary education and
child/maternal health can serve as a good example for other countries.
Inclusive Economic Growth and Domestic Resource Mobilization
China’s domestic resource mobilization was strong and highly progressive, and remains a key means to tackle inequality.
However, China still has large segments of the population which have been left behind, in terms of health, education, and income.
While inequality is not a challenge unique to China, high levels of economic and social inequality constrain sustainable
development. They also discourage social participation, threaten political stability, and impede healthy economic growth. Thus,
engaging with China on concrete targets to enable human capabilities as well as specific commitments to reduce the level of
inequality – especially within countries – would be useful.
Universal Social Protection
Now that China is classified as a middle-income country with a rapidly aging population, it faces the challenging prospect of
building an equitable and sustainable social safety net, with universal basic health care, old age pension and other social
protection. These areas will become a high priority as well as one of the greatest challenges China faces. Universal social
protection should be a global goal, as such protection is lacking not just in the developing world, but also in some of the world’s
richest places. Achieving such a goal will contribute greatly to enabling human capabilities for all, and for reducing inequality.

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Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is central to achieving a sustainable future and an environmentally sustainable world has never been
more important for China and the rest of the world than now. Some have argued that China has emphasized economic growth
over environmental issues.30 The same can be observed in many of the developing countries as well as developed countries. In
the future, countries will need to not only strive to further its efforts in environmental protection, but as pollution and climate
change have no national boundaries, be active partners in the making development more sustainable.

PART 5: CONCLUSION
This report shows that China has considerable success in meeting most of the MDGs largely because China’s own goal aimed at
building a xiaokang society has broadly been in line with the MDGs. China has made significant strides in meeting the MDGs
through rapid, export-led economic growth underpinned by a strong, development-oriented government that set clear national
development goals and formulated the means to achieve them. The Chinese government has been instrumental in defining these
goals in five-year increments, and since 2000, aligning these with the MDGs. It has benefitted from increases in domestic
resources including taxes, remittances, investments and savings from household and companies, and directed these resources
toward areas of the economy targeted for growth. Key among these areas were physical and social infrastructures, which allowed
China to build up its transportation networks and fosters its human capital to utilize these networks for productive means. While
China is unlikely to reach all of the MDGs by 2015, it has made remarkable progress in areas including poverty reduction,
primary education, and health.
However, despite China’s success, it still faces some challenges in full fulfillment of the targets, including full and productive
employment and decent work for all, women and young people in particular, universal access to reproductive health, reversing
the spread of HIV/AIDS, mitigating a high level of regional, rural-urban and gender inequalities, addressing demographic
changes and ensuring environmental sustainability. Integrating non-government actors into the development process will be key
to addressing these.
Nevertheless, on the basis of China’s past successes, experiences, and the financial and human resources that it has accumulated
during its rapid development, China is now poised to move its social development ahead even more rapidly, beyond the original
MDG targets and toward more ambitious goals.
Drawing on China’s experiences can help to promote a more rapid global development for all and help other countries—both
developed and developing—to design and achieve a set of highly effective new global development goals. It is important to learn
from China’s experience and ensure that one of the most influential global players is fully supportive of post-2015 development
agenda.
Finally, although not discussed in detail in this paper, there is a potential for China’s well established and appreciated practice
of South-South development cooperation frameworks with other developing countries to be expanded in new directions to
support these lessons – for instance, around efficiency of government systems, or domestic resource mobilization.
The time is now to learn and move forward together to eradicate poverty once and for all.

30

See for example:http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/china/review.php

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Acknowledgements: The report was commissioned by UNDP China and drafted primarily by Wang Feng – Professor at the
University of California, Irvine and at Fudan University in Shanghai, and nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program
of the Brookings Institution. On the UNDP China side, the report received inputs from Jackie Hoi-Wai Cheng, Lisa Caiying Xu,
Renfei Liu, and Bryce Seockhwan Hwang.
Contact Information: Mr. Bryce Seockhwan Hwang, Programme Manager. Email: Seockhwan.hwang@undp.org

For more information: www.undp.org.cn/
United Nations Development Programme China
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No.2 Liangmahe Nanlu, Beijing, China 100600