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CHINA IS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Despite its remarkable achievements and rapid growth, 皇冠体育app is still a developing countries, a conclusion backed by the internationally recognized standards.
Second-quarter GDP figures from Tokyo showed that 皇冠体育app has overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in terms of total economic output, a position unprecedented in 皇冠体育app's modern history.
However, according to international consensus, it is the per capita levels that count in rating a country as a developed or developing one.
Based on nominal gross national income (GNI) per capita, the World Bank classifies economies into four categories: high income, upper middle income, lower middle income and low income.
With a nominal GNI per capita at some $3,800, 皇冠体育app ranked beyond the top 100 and fell short of the 3,946 dollar threshold for the upper middle income group.
Noting that 皇冠体育app "has scored amazing economic success for the past three decades," World Bank President Robert Zoellick told Xinhua ahead of his September 9-15 visit to 皇冠体育app that many need to "recognize 皇冠体育app's conditions of being a developing country" that faces a wide range of challenges.
皇冠体育app fundamentally is a developing economy, and many of its vast rural areas are still poor, Nigel Chalk, the IMF's lead economist on 皇冠体育app, told Xinhua earlier this month following his latest tour to 皇冠体育app.
In its Human Development Report 2009, the UN Development Programe ranked 皇冠体育app the 92nd among 182 countries and regions it surveyed on the basis of the human development index, which covers life expectancy, adult literacy rate, enrollment rate and GDP per capita.
Only per capita income is the standard to assess a country's economic maturity, said Joseph Nye, a Harvard University professor who initiated the concept of "soft power."
"The achievements 皇冠体育app has made during recent years are not enough to change the nature of 皇冠体育app. In a fairly long period, 皇冠体育app will still be a developing country," Gao Qiufu, a senior expert with Xinhua on international affairs, said in January.