Environmental Obstacles to China's Economic Growth

China’s astounding advance into the realm of the global economic superpowers over the past decades has had immeasurably far-reaching implications for China’s own citizens and for the rest of the world. And their sustained economic vibrancy continues to shape numerous facets of today’s global society. In only thirty years, China has witnessed a tenfold increase in its GDP. According to the statistics of the CIA World Factbook, the IMF and World Bank, China is ranked number two in the world in terms of GDP on the basis of purchasing power parity. Between the years of 2003 and 2004, the value of China’s industrial enterprises, which had already been growing at steadily increasing intervals in previous years, was enlarged by an impressive 16.7 percent. (AllCountries.Org) But China’s status as an economic powerhouse has come at great cost. Climbing alongside the economic growth rates are water scarcity and pollution, the degradation of air quality, and the demand for non-renewable, environmentally-antagonistic resources. Despite, and maybe due to, China’s rapid economic ascent, the elements most vital to ensuring economic sustainability and growth may have been lost. If the Chinese government and people do not address the rampant environmental problems plaguing the country, and ensure the efficient implementation of solutions, their economic progress will stagnate, if not decline.