ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Economic history of China

China is a really big country with lots of people living in it. A long, long time ago, people in China used to trade things like silk and tea with other countries. This is called international trade. They also used to make things like paper, gunpowder and porcelain that became really popular in other parts of the world.

Over the years, different leaders ruled China and they had different ideas on how to make the country grow and be strong. Some leaders focused on farming and agriculture while others built big projects like walls, canals and even the Grand Canal, which is the longest canal in the world! This helped people move goods and products much faster and easier.

As time passed by, China became the world's biggest economy again in the 1800s. The country was still making lots of goods that other people wanted to buy. However, things started to change when other countries like Britain, America and Japan started to join in the international trade too. They made goods such as textiles and machinery, which were cheaper and better than what China was making.

This hurt China's economy and made it weaker, which led to social and political problems too. There were wars, rebellions and revolutions in the country, and China struggled to keep up with the world. This went on for many years until the 1970s when China started to open up and change again.

New leaders came into power, and they had lots of ideas on how to make China better. They started to make new policies and change the way things were done in the country. One of the things they did was to encourage foreign investment and export. This helped China's economy grow and made it stronger again.

Today, China is one of the world's biggest economies and it has become a major player in the global market. It still makes lots of things that other people want to buy, but it also invests heavily in technology and innovation. The country is still changing and growing, and it is exciting to see what the future holds for China.