Containerization and globalization
In the chart above, we can identify two trendlines (marked red) with similar gradients, and the curve switched from the lower one to the higher one at around 1974, which was exactly the time period when deregulation of transportation industry worldwide began. In my opinion, the rise in wages was caused by a big increase in demand for labour, which was caused by increased foreign direct investment led by lower transportation costs. China is another big winner of containerization. With a huge population (almost 1.3 billion as of 2000 17 ), low wages (average annual earning of a Chinese urban citizen was only 6,907 CNY 18 ($834 19 ) in 2001), high population density (of the eastern part of the country), adequate education level (59.7% of China’s population were educated for at least 8 years, 20 which makes a person capable of most factory works), hardworking culture and only very basic worker protection (which made long working hours possible) and policies encouraging foreign investments (as the ‘ Reform to the Open ’ was highly prioritized), the huge country is destined to be successful in its new position.
Real GDP per capita and container port traffic of China, 1998-2015
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Real GDP per Capita (USD, left axis)
Container port traffic (million TEU, right axis)
Figure 5: Real GDP per capita and container port traffic of China, 1998-2015 21
17 National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2001). ‘ Communiqué on Major Figures of the 2000 Population Census ’ . http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/NewsEvents/200204/t20020423_25982.html. 18 National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2002). ‘ China Statistical Yearbook-2001 ’. 19 National Bureau of Statistics of China . (2016). ‘ China Statistical Yearbook-2015/Financial Intermediation/19-8 Reference Exchange Rate of Renminbi (Period Average) ’ http://stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2015/indexeh.htm. 20 National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2001). ‘ 第五次人口普 查 数据（ 2000 年）表 4-1 全国分年 龄 、性 别 、受教 育程度的 6 岁 及 6 岁 以上人口 (English: Statistics of the Fifth National Population Census (2000) Table 4-1: Population aging 6 or over by age, sex and education level) ’. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/renkoupucha/2000pucha/html/t0401.htm. 21 World Bank. ‘ GDP per capita (current US$) of China ’. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=CN. ‘ Container port traffic (TEU: 20-foot equivalent units) of China ’. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU?locations=CN.
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