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               China Could Overtake US Economy This Year: Reports

   A new study suggests China`s economy has grown faster than previously
   thought, leading some analysts to predict that China could surpass the
   United States as the world`s biggest economy by the end of the year.
   The figures were released Wednesday in a report by the International
   Comparison Program, which is part of the United Nations.
   The ICP evaluates economies based on purchasing power parity, or PPP,
   which estimates how much money can buy in different countries. Some
   economists say the method helps more accurately determine a country`s
   relative economic output, since comparisons are complicated by exchange
   rates.
   Using its latest data, which calculated living costs in 2011, the
   program said China`s PPP was 20 percent higher than its previous
   estimate in 2005. Given China`s rate of growth since then, many
   economists expect China to surpass the U.S. later this year.
   In an article entitled "Crowning the Dragon," The Economist predicted
   Wednesday that China will become "the world`s pre-eminent country" by
   the end of 2014. It noted that "the American Century ends, and the
   Pacific Century begins." The Financial Times and The Guardian also
   published similar predictions.
   But the PPP rate does not take into account a nation`s wealth per
   person. When this is considered, China, with its over 1.3 billion
   people, is still considered a developing nation and ranks well behind
   the United States.
   China`s economy experienced staggering, double-digit growth rates on
   average for three decades before slowing in recent years. In terms of
   gross domestic product, China is widely expected to overtake the U.S.
   as the world`s biggest economy, but many economists did not expect this
   to happen until later in the decade.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/china-could-overtake-us-economy-this-
   year-reports/1904221.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/china-could-overtake-us-economy-this-year-reports/1904221.html