This paper uses a shift-share method to quantify the components of economic growth and structural changes in employment and investments at both the national and regional levels. The results indicate that rapid economic growth has been characterized by significant shifts in employment and investments between industries in China. Such structural changes have a distinct regional pattern which has important policy implications regarding spatial disparities in economic growth and income. The results shed some important light on the understanding of Deng's development thought that is formalized in this paper as a multi-tier and multi-stage development strategy for a large developing economy.