According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, in the last 50 years of the twentieth century, average GDP growth rate was 7.7 percent, meaning that China's economy doubled every 10 years. In the same period, the population trebled to more than 1,200 million from 400, and per capita GDP increased 10 times. This strong economic growth has increased incomes, reduced poverty, and improved the health and quality of life of most ordinary citizens. It has also, however, damaged the environment, and rapid industrialization and urbanization continue to produce huge amounts of pollutants. Many Chinese cities are threatened by air pollution.
Environmental deterioration has enormous human costs in China.
China's Environment in the New Century, reported that 178,000 people die prematurely every year because of air pollution in the major cities. Diseases caused by air pollution cost the labor of 7.4 million people annually. For more than 10 years, the government has tried various strategies to control environmental deterioration. China has tried to adopt preventive measures and avoid the crisis management approach that the developed countries experienced during their industrialization. Despite these measures, however, the environment is facing serious problems, and without even tougher controls, damage from pollution will continue to increase.