Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that China's GDP in 2013 was 5,688.45 billion yuan, an increase of 7.7 percent over the previous year at comparable prices, and an increase of nearly 5 trillion yuan over the previous year, an increment that would have been equivalent to the total economic output of the whole of 1994.

The results of the preliminary accounting of GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are as follows: 2013 GDP Preliminary Accounting Data Absolute amount (billion yuan) Growth over the same period of the previous year (%) GDP 568,845 7.7 Primary industry 569,575 4.0 Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery 569,575 4.0 Secondary industry 249,684 7.8 Industry 210,689 7.6 Construction 38995 9.5 Tertiary industry 262204 8.3 Transportation, storage and postal services 27283 7.2 Wholesale and retail trade 55672 10.3 Accommodation and catering 11494 5.3 Finance 33535 10.1 Real estate 33295 6.6 Other services 100925 7.7 Note: Absolute amounts are calculated at current prices, and the growth rate is based on the constant prices. Calculated. When comparing the 2013 GDP of China's provinces with that of the rest of the world, we find that China's top five provinces - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang and Henan - ranked 16th, 17th, 19th, 24th and 28th globally.

China's total GDP has reached twice that of Japan. China's total GDP surpassed Japan's for the first time in 2010 to rank second in the world behind the United States; just three years later, China's total GDP has reached twice that of Japan.

In 1952, China's gross industrial output was estimated at 239 billion yuan at current prices. In total this figure represents almost 3% of the world's share, and is also 1.5 times that of Japan or India (not per capita).

GDP per capita grew at a mere 17% in the 1960s, rising to 70% in the 1970s, and then leapfrogging India by 63% in the fast-growing 1980s, before peaking at 175% in the 1990s. Yet China's prosperity remains concentrated in the coastal and southern provinces, while in recent years it has sought to extend its boom to inland provinces and the traditional industrial belt in the northeast.

During the 1980s, China sought to combine centralized planning with market-driven reforms to raise productivity, living standards, and the quality of science and technology without exacerbating inflation, unemployment, and fiscal deficits; it pursued agricultural reforms by dismantling the commune system and introducing the household responsibility system, which gave farmers greater autonomy in agricultural activities; and it encouraged non-agricultural activities such as rural enterprises in rural areas; and it pushed for the expansion of non-agricultural activities to the inland provinces and the traditional industrial belt in the northeast. The government also encouraged non-agricultural activities, such as rural enterprises in rural areas; promoted greater autonomy and competitiveness of state-owned enterprises, and facilitated direct contact between the mainland and trading enterprises outside the country; and increased reliance on foreign capital and imports.