Well, they started from a small base a while after the Great Flop Backwards.  They had a massively agrarian population and still do.  They are desperately trying to "keep 'em down on the farm" despite the higher standard of living obtainable in the cities, (when there is work.) Given that the country is still predominantly rural and that these rural people want a better life, they need at least to be able to accommodate a substantial portion of the youth into their economy, both urban and rural youth.

Given the resulting cost of labor, which is vanishingly low, compared to western labor costs, they have been able to claim double digit growth rates since the late '80s, I believe.  That seems to be coming to an end.  I have long thought that a severe downturn in China would be explosive.  We may be about to see.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."