China has become the second largest economy in the world, surpassing the United States in 2020-2021 with a GDP of $19.91 trillion in 2022. Mao Zedong's economic policies from 1949-1976 led to massive failure, poverty, and famine until Deng Xiaoping reversed policies and introduced reforms in 1976 that spurred China's economic growth in the 1990s, including improving national planning, transforming economic patterns, maintaining price stability, and promoting private sector involvement. China's focus on skilled labor training, vocational education, and cluster development helped fuel economic growth as it invested in its workforce of 950 million to become the world's factory.