China About to Bump Japan as the No. 2 Economy

Even in the face of the global economic crisis, China’s economy still managed to grow by a surprising 8.7 percent last year, according to the bean-counters in Beijing, putting the country on track to overtake Japan as the world’s second-biggest economy. —JCL

The BBC:

China has said its economy expanded by 8.7% in 2009, exceeding even the government’s own initial expectations.

The pace of change increased as the year went on, with growth in the final quarter of 2009 increasing by 10.7% from the same period a year earlier.

China is now on course to overtake Japan and become the world’s second-biggest economy.

Japan announces its latest quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) figures next month.

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Flickr.com / PMorgan

The Chinese overtook Germany last year as the world’s third-largest economy, and now seem poised to move past Japan into the No. 2 spot behind the United States.