China’s economy seems to be going gangbusters. “Forecasts suggest it could overtake the USA, Japan and Germany to become the world’s largest economy as early as 2035,” according to Global Futures & Forecast (GFF) and Fast Future. But GFF’s survey of international business leaders and futurists finds that there nevertheless are some short-term barriers to the China juggernaut:

Barriers to China’s growth
Bureaucracy (cited by 41% of respondents)
Corruption (32%)
Energy shortages (22%)
Lack of experienced managers (18%)
Protectionist behavior in export markets (18%)
Slow market reforms (18%)
Social unrest (18%)
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Base: 700 respondents from 60 countries
Source: “The Future of China’s Economy: The Path to 2020,” by Rohit Talwar, Global Futures & Foresight (GFF) and Fast Future; cited in The Futurist magazine (July-August 2007, World Future Society)