2010 may have been the point at which the world's obsession with China as a global economic force crystallized. It followed a similar preoccupation with Japan in the 1980s and a passing interest in the East Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea) in the 1990s.
That year, China had just become the world's largest exporter of goods; its current account had recently peaked at 10% of gross domestic product, and real GDP growth held at a record-breaking average of 10% over three decades. A profusion of Chinese company initial public offerings bookmarked by the Agricultural Bank of China in 2010 propelled Chinese equity markets to the top of global league tables, in terms of IPO capital raised, surpassing Wall Street.
