China's Economy In Trouble

The Chinese economy has been growing massively in the last decade. It's been growing at about 10% a year and was looking to explode into 1st World status. But the global slowdown is even affecting the Chinese.

Unemployment is now estimated to be at its highest levels since the Communist Party took over in 1949. Job creation and preservation has become a top priority of China's leaders, who are acutely aware of the role a deteriorating economy played in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Economists say that if the growth of China's gross domestic product dips below 8 percent -- a healthy rate in most countries -- it would be a disaster here. The reason is that the demand for jobs would far outpace China's ability to create them.

While the dollar was weak, American factories were able to produce more, as they were able to sell it to other countries with strong currencies. If the Chinese economy continues to be weak, then American industry could take the initiative and gain back a lot of prestige lost over the last 30 years.