It's been a tough year for business and governments all around the world.

However, thanks in a large part to the massive stimulus package unveiled by the government toward the end of 2008, China has managed to maintain brisk economic growth.

The stimulus measures, which include the 4 trillion yuan (＄585 billion) stimulus package, five interest rate cuts since September 2008 and ＄1.35 trillion in new lending this year, may well have kept the economy ticking over, but economists are split as to whether the recovery is sustainable.

The threat of inflation and asset bubbles loom and it appears that 2010 will be another difficult year for China's policy makers.

As we prepare to enter the new year, the Economic Observer is proud to offer this 60-page review of China's economic developments over the past year.

Road To Recovery is an e-book in PDF format which is available for free download (right click to save).

The year-end special is organized chronologically. We divided the year into the following three chapters:

Worrying Times - Recalls the gloomy outlook that confronted Chinese business, exporters and employees at the start of the year.

Green Shoots? - Traces the debates between economists, policy makers and analysts over how to interpret the economic figures that emerged in the middle of the year. Was China witnessing a V-shaped recovery?

Consolidation of the Recovery - Looks at the signs that have emerged in the past three months that indicate that China will indeed manage to reach its goal of 8-percent GDP growth. The chapter also looks at moves to slowly shift the policy focus from stimulus to longer-term goals of reshaping the country's economic growth model.

Alongside the main narrative, we also take a look at some of the big economic stories of 2009:

China's Stimulus Package - Unpacks the details of the package designed to keep China's economy growing.