What is the source of income/revenue of china?

China is one of the world's oldest living civilizations and up until around the 19th century the country had one of the world's most advanced economies. However, successive generations failed to advance at the speed of industrialization seen in the West, and the Chinese economy began to dwindle.

• War

Because of civil war, which saw the country split into two states, it was not until the 50s that China began to rebuild its faltering economy once again.

• Turning point

China quickly began to develop a growing economy based around the production of technological products, and it is this field of enterprise that the country has moved into ever since.

• Opening up the country

Foreign investment and industrialization have also proved important in China's economic upturn. The country has created 'special economic zones' which allow foreign companies to invest in China by taking advantage of the cheap labor. This has caused the economy to boom, with an estimated $699 billion of foreign investment present in the country.

China has also joined the World Trade Organization, increasing its overall export and imports from around £$851 billion in 2003, to an additional $170 billion per year on top of this.

• Success

In February, 2011, China over took Japan as the second largest economy in the world. Official statistics at the time showed that Japan had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $5.474 trillion, while China surpassed this with $5.8 trillion.