Beijing Rising
China remains primarily a nation of farmers, and the transition to an industrial free market is much like the traffic on Highway 204-unpredictable. Few state-owned firms have been sold, and most are laggard behemoths. Growth is driven by new joint ventures, collectives and private busines-ses, which now account for more than 50% of China’s industrial production.
For China’s newly-rising enterprises, profits are up throughout the region-thanks largely to low wages. Last year the BeiBei company in Zhangjiagang cleared $14 million on exports of 10 mil- lion pairs of shoes to U.S. department stores. Typically, Chinese workers in a plant like this make about 34 cents an hour, compared with $3.50 for Korean workers, according to South Korean esti- mates. That gives China a huge competitive advantage.
Last fall Beijing agreed to open its markets to more U.S. goods, including everything from Polaroid film to automobiles. In return, Washington would support China’s membership in General Agreement on Tariff and Trade. Membership in this club, which includes all the world's leading economies, could provide a huge boost for low-wage export economy. Last year China’s trade surplus surged, buoyed by exports of toys, textiles and consumer electronics. "The trade surplus it- self will be the No.1 problem this year," says one Chinese officials. "After Japan, we’ll be first in line for retalintion."At the same time, Americans has an increasingly large stake in good relations with China.
Transition of China from an agricultural nation to an industrial country will be slow and difficult.
A、正确
B、错误
【正确答案】：B
【名师解析】:题目中提到中国仍然是一个以农业为主的国家，并且向工业自由市场的转型是不可预测的。虽然国有企业的出售不多，但它们大多表现不佳。中国经济增长的驱动力来自于新的合资企业、集体企业和私营企业，这些企业现在占中国工业生产的50%以上。对于中国新兴的企业来说，由于低工资，整个地区的利润都在上升。例如，去年，张家港的贝贝公司出口了1000万双鞋到美国的百货商店，净赚了1400万美元。中国工厂的工人平均每小时大约赚34美分，而韩国工人则为3.50美元，这为中国提供了巨大的竞争优势。
去年秋天，北京同意向更多的美国商品开放市场，包括从宝丽来胶卷到汽车等一切商品。作为回报，华盛顿将支持中国加入关贸总协定。加入这个包括世界上所有主要经济体的俱乐部，可能会为低工资的出口经济提供巨大的推动。去年，中国的贸易顺差激增，得益于玩具、纺织品和消费电子产品的出口。一位中国官员表示：“贸易顺差本身将是今年的第一大问题。”“继日本之后，我们将是第一个面临报复的国家。”同时，美国人对中国的良好关系越来越感兴趣。
然而，题目的陈述“Transition of China from an agricultural nation to an industrial country will be slow and difficult.”与文章中的内容不符。文章中并没有明确提到中国从农业国向工业国的转变会是缓慢和困难的，而是强调了新的企业和低工资带来的竞争优势以及中国对美国商品市场的开放。因此，题目的陈述是错误的，正确答案应该是B。
