Making up around one-fifth of the world economy, China is the world's largest economy by GDP by purchasing power parity, the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country. The country is one of the fastest growing major economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter.

China has three out of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world — Shanghai (SSE), Hong Kong (HKEX) and Shenzhen (SZSE) — that together have a market capitalization of over $15.9 trillion, as of October 2020.

As a result of the rapid internationalization of the Renminbi (CNY, ¥), it became the eighth-most-traded currency in the world, an emerging international reserve currency, and a component of the IMF's special drawing rights.