Spreading prosperity, and consumer demand, throughout China

Domestic consumption will have to be the primary demand-driver for the products of China's factories and businesses. For, the nation is transitioning from an economic model based on infrastructure investment and exports made by low-cost labor toward one based on higher wages, upgraded industry, and technology development.

In the prosperous big cities, demand for such goods as cars, appliances, electronics and clothing is already high. Many government policies are designed to spread this prosperity and consumer demand throughout the countryside and to smaller cities.

Throughout history, megacities have been the engines of growth and productivity. But no nation can succeed if its regional cities and its countryside are not prospering as well. In the 1990-2010 period, China's growth was concentrated in a few large eastern cities. These cities attracted migrants in search of jobs and a better life.