China world's 2nd largest economy; goes past Japan

TOKYO/BEIJING: In a testimony to its growing clout, China's nearly $5 trillion economy surpassed Japan to become the world's second largest economy for the three months ended June, 2010.

According to figures released on Monday by the Japanese Cabinet Office, the country's economy was worth $1.29 trillion for the June quarter after it grew 0.4 per cent.

During the same period, China's economy was valued at $1.34 trillion.

Going by the World Bank, China's GDP was worth about $4.9 trillion in 2009, while that of Japan was $5.06 trillion.

The US remains the world's largest economy, valued at around $14.2 trillion. India is at 11th place, at $1.29 trillion.

Bolstered by strong exports and a huge population, China has been growing at a staggering pace in recent quarters. In contrast, the export-oriented Japanese economy is being adversely impacted by an appreciating yen. An ageing population is also cause for concern.

In comparison to Japan's second-quarter growth of 0.4 per cent, China expanded at a whopping rate of 10.3 per cent during the same period.

The Japanese economy, which was severely hit by the financial meltdown in 2008-09, was expected to grow by over 2 per cent in the second quarter. Japan had reported an economic growth of 4.4 per cent for the first three months of 2010.

In July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had projected the US and Japanese economies to expand by 3.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

According to the IMF, China's 2010 growth rate would be 10.5 per cent.