Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


China Surpasses Japan as World's Number Two Economy

   VOA News 16 August 2010
   Chinese workers rest during their lunch break at an under construction
   highway  in  Tianjin,  China.  China  is  set to overtake Japan as the
   world's second largest-economy in a resurgence that is changing

Photo: AP

   Chinese workers rest during their lunch break at an under construction
   highway  in  Tianjin,  China.  China  is  set to overtake Japan as the
   world's  second  largest-economy  in  a  resurgence  that  is changing
   everything  from the global balance of military and financial power to
   how cars are designed, 5 Aug 2010

   Officials  say  Japan lost its place as the world's number two economy
   to China in the second quarter, as the island nation's economic growth
   slowed to a crawl.
   Japan's Cabinet Office said Monday that gross domestic product rose an
   annualized 0.4 percent in the three months ended June 3, compared with
   a revised 4.4 percent expansion in the first quarter.
   Monday's  report  said  export  growth  slowed  and  consumer spending
   stalled.   The  expansion  was weaker than economists estimated, with
   their predictions ranging from 0.6 percent to 3.4 percent.
   Analysts  say  China's  economy  will  almost certainly be bigger than
   Japan's  at the end of the year, because of the big difference in each
   country's  growth  rates.   China  is growing at about 10 percent per
   year,  while  Japan's  economy  is forecast to grow three percent this
   year.
   China  continues to increase its global economic clout, and is already
   the world's biggest exporter, auto buyer and steel producer.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

.