Urbanisation has been one of the main driving forces and by some calculations the process is only half-complete. Despite all the progress since 1978, China is still a much poorer country than most people realise – it is not even in the top 100 in the International Monetary Fund's ranking of gross domestic product per capita. That means plenty of room to keep playing catch-up.

So it is important not to panic at the news that the Chinese economy is cooling more rapidly than expected in the face of the global financial meltdown after five years of double-digit expansion. The 9 per cent growth in the third quarter is still exceptional by historical standards, higher than Japan or South Korea's growth during their boom years. The last time the US grew that quickly was more than half a century ago.

But it also seems clear that the Chinese economy has reached a turning point. The growth machine that has brought China this far needs to be retooled if it is to keep up its remarkable record. China's leaders are facing questions that go to the core of how the economy is managed.