(FUVEST - 2006 - 1 FASE )
“CHINA has begun to enter the age of mass car consumption. This is a great and historic advance.” So proclaimed the state-run news agency, Xinhua, last year. Environmentalists may feel a twinge of fear at this burgeoning romance with motoring. But a rapid social and economic transformation is under way in urban China, and the car is steering it.
In 2002 demand for cars in China soared by 56%, far more than even the rosiest projections. The next year growth quickened to 75%, before slowing in 2004 (when the government tightened rules on credit for car purchases) to around 15%. But in a sluggish global market, China’s demand remains mesmerising. Few expect this year’s growth to dip below 10%. As long as the economy goes on galloping at its current high-singledigit clip, many expect car sales to increase by 10-20% annually for several years to come."
The Economist, June 4th 2005.
Which of these statements is true according to the passage?
China became a car culture in 2003 thanks to the government’s industrial development policy.
Car sales in China are expected to increase by 10% at most as soon as the global market recovers.
Unless the global economy slows down, China’s rate of growth will remain in high single figures.
The car industry has been crucial for the radical changes urban China is undergoing.
Despite all rosy projections, China’s economic growth for the next few years may be quite slow.
Gabarito:
The car industry has been crucial for the radical changes urban China is undergoing.