Chinese economic growth in recent decades has been truly remarkable. Annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) averaged 9.4% in the period from 1978 to 2002, total GDP in 1998 was 6.4 times 1978 GDP. Official statistics may overestimate growth by underestimating inflation, but growth of at least 6% per year is still quite impressive. Before 1949, GDP per capita was no higher than it was in 1820, and between 1949 and 1978 growth was only about 2.3% per capita per year. China's gross national product (GNP) grew 7.2% annually from 1978 to 1990, averaged 9.7% per capita from 1982 to 1988, and was among the best in the world. However, “past growth is not a good indicator of future performance” and the considerable volatility of China's economic growth has raised the question of whether this growth is truly sustainable. China's high savings rate, its advantages as a developing country, as well as its disciplined and educated workforce should prove its critics wrong. However, there are other underlying factors that determine the sustainability of growth, such as the type of growth, the state of the environment, and the transition of the economy from planned to market. China's growth may not seem as sustainable when these factors are taken into account. The Chinese economy has some of the highest savings rates in the world, averaging 37 percent of GDP between 1978 and 1995. The stable and high savings rate supports vigorous rates of investment and capital accumulation, crucial to economic growth. Families currently contribute half of total savings. The rapid increase in GDP per capita has reduced the level of subsistence consumption. Growing aspirations have led people to save a larger share of their income. And… middle of the paper… as individual economies, the twenty fastest growing economies in the world between 1978 and 1995 would have been Chinese. China's high savings rate will ensure a continued increase in investment, its status as a developing country will ensure its ability to take advantage of available technology developed by advanced economies, and improvements in the quality of human capital will ensure sustained increases in productivity . Despite current lackluster efforts by the government to minimize environmental damage, there have been relative improvements. Furthermore, as China fully transforms into a market economy, its ability for sustainable growth will undoubtedly improve. In conclusion, the current rapid growth of the Chinese economy is largely sustainable. Sustainable growth is significant as it is crucial to the survival of China's economy in the long run.