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China Economy Zooms by Japan to No. 2 Spot

Nation's now gearing up to take on No. 1 US

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 14, 2011 1:40 AM CST

(Newser) – China has steamed past Japan to become the world's second-largest economy. Japan's economy, hit by a drop in exports and consumer demand, was worth $5.5 trillion at the end of last year, while China's was estimated at $5.8 trillion. China is expected to take over the US as the No. 1 economy in about a decade, reports the BBC. Japan officials played down the news. "As an economy, we are not competing for rankings but working to improve citizens' lives," said the nation's economics minister.

This photo taken on February 10, 2011 shows predestrians walking along a street following the year's first snowfall overnight in Beijing. The Chinese capital had faced its longest wait for winter snowfall in 60 years as wide swathes of northern China suffers through its worst spell of drought since 1951....
This photo taken on February 10, 2011 shows predestrians walking along a street following the year's first snowfall overnight in Beijing. The Chinese capital had faced its longest wait for winter snowfall...   (Getty Images)
Fireworks light the night sky over Beijing on the eve of the Lunar New Year early this month.
Fireworks light the night sky over Beijing on the eve of the Lunar New Year early this month.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 3 comments
WallyEFunk
Feb 14, 2011 8:03 AM CST
With the debt they have could get ugly.. Other selected Levels of Public Debt as a % of GDP from 2009 est 1 Zimbabwe 304.30 % 2 Japan 192.10 http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/list-of-national-debt-by-country/ Who does Japan borrow money from ? China as well http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Daily-Reckoning/2011/0110/On-the-worthlessness-of-Japanese-government-debt
Fascist_Jack
Feb 14, 2011 7:57 AM CST
Only Conservatism can save America from falling behind. Not Cronyism, but Conservatism. Liberals actually hate the idea of America being a super power, so they should be stripped of their power all together.

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