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China's Economy
Economy: China's economy has boomed since 1978, as a result of sweeping economic reforms. The GNP (Gross National Product) grew from $128 billion in 1980 to $745 billion in 1998. China's economy continues to grow rapidly, with a GDP real growth rate of 9.1 percent in 2003, and an annual industrial production growth rate of 11.6 percent between 1979 and 2000.
Currency: The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China (PRC), whose principal unit is the yuan. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC. The official abbreviation is CNY, although also commonly abbreviated as "RMB".
The two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau, have their own respective currencies. The Hong Kong dollar and the pataca remain the legal tenders in the two territories, and Renminbi, although accepted, is not legal tender.
In spoken Chinese, the yuan is referred to as kuai.
The currency has three units: yuan, jiao and fen. One yuan equals ten jiao, and one jiao equals ten fen. The following denominations are available:
Notes: 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 1 fen
Coins: 1 yuan; 5 and 1 jiao; 5, 2 and 1 fen
Due to the very low value, fen notes and coins are rarely used.
