China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy

SHANGHAI — After three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in the second quarter to become the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States, according to government figures released early Monday.

The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China’s ascendance is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower.

The recognition came early Monday, when Tokyo said that Japan’s economy was valued at about $1.28 trillion in the second quarter, slightly below China’s $1.33 trillion. Japan’s economy grew 0.4 percent in the quarter, Tokyo said, substantially less than forecast. That weakness suggests that China’s economy will race past Japan’s for the full year.

Experts say unseating Japan — and in recent years passing Germany, France and Great Britain — underscores China’s growing clout and bolsters forecasts that China will pass the United States as the world’s biggest economy as early as 2030. America’s gross domestic product was about $14 trillion in 2009

finance.yahoo.com...

Congrats China. I'm glad all of our wonderful US Corporations continue to pump up your economy and wonderful slave labor policies by continuing to send you all of the USA's jobs.

This is what happens when we continue to run our country with GARBAGE TRADE POLICIES that don't protect American workers.

Go China!!!!

This is just a reminder for me to go back to this interesting topic after I am over my winter cold .

Cheers xpert11.

Unlike many other countries China's bailouts were used to 'actually' make a difference, expanding/upgrading public infrastructure etc not just thrown in a bottomless pit. Anyway, this was inevitable sooner or later...good luck China i guess.

I thought this story already broke a couple weeks ago?
Maybe I am trippin.

That said, I can care less really, not like we have a voice anymore anyways.
China will continue to use unsafe working conditions, as well as provide unsafe products for the world, just so they can make a buck and steal jobs that are outsourced to them from cheap bastards who wont pay their own people to make quality goods. All they care about is the$$.
America- we are losing big time. We used to be a nation of producers, now we are a nation of consumers who only consume what we are forced to consume. Everything we use these days comes from some tainted factory back in the east.
Very sad.

reply to post by Common Good


Unless you are willing to take a massive increase in prices for things like electrical goods then there is no point complaining, i very much doubt most Americans would pay five or six times more for TV's etc Most people only think about themselves and the here and now...no thought to the long term consequences of their greed.

[edit on 17-8-2010 by Solomons]

reply to post by Solomons


Thats where you are wrong, well, about me anyways.
I would bemore than happy to pay a little extra to get quality goods over cheap crap anytime of the day.

Not to mention that I would have the money to pay for it if we had the jobs here in the first place. You cant buy something without money, and you cant get money without a job, and you cant get a job without a company who hires people.

Yea, it may cost a couple bucks extra for that t.v, but you know what, at least you will be able to afford it knowing that you are secure in your company and not having to worry about if you are going to get shtcanned or not because some slaves are going to take over my job in some far away land just to save the company money.

reply to post by Common Good


It would be a lot more than a couple of bucks, and i can guarantee you that your view is in the minority...the vast majority of people simply couldn't give a damn.

reply to post by Solomons


And that is why this country is going to hell.

Two.

I am surprised that it was little, and expected more, based on the amount of workers they have.

That is still so little is only a sign of its low productivity and low wages. For decades, their salary had rarely gone into the range of 3 figures per month.

Now with the greedy and soon to be gobbled up 'globalised' traitor MNCs there, it had hit 3 figures and more once they can get rid of the short term corruptive greed and go full steam for full productivity and quality, along with sharing wealth to produce a consumerist nation. It is a market by itself.

But then...you will have to consider how much of its treasury will be expanded to meet social expectations. It's 1.3 billion people compared to US 300 million people.

In relative comparison, they are a poor nation, even if they become the largest economy in the world. It would have to perform 4 times the rate to become a 1st world compared to US, with the socia-political arena the same or it will collapse on itself as the masses awakens.

Unless the CCP can continue to maintain a tight totalitarian leash on the masses, something's gonna give....democracy and then corruption by the rich and overfed ex CCP afilliated members ala Fed bank style, creating and using borrowings to fund social spending and ensuring slavery...or the chinese learn the mistakes made by US, live within their means with no one left behind and chart a better path for their own people the world can learn from.

[edit on 17-8-2010 by SeekerofTruth101]

The less spoken aspects of globalization is that it has lifted billions of people out of poverty in places like India and China . What has been virtually unspoken about is along with China economic rise has come the vast industrial capacity that the USA once possessed . This along with other factors means the US could never hope to defeat China in a conventional war , the war so many keyboard warriors want so badly .

Cheers xpert11.

reply to post by xpert11


Unfortunately, globalisation had been often used to misleadingly portray the 'lifting of billions out of poverty'.

Globalisation is total BS. The only ones who were truly 'lifted out of ruin and poverty' were the global elites. The billion of masses are still as poor as ever.

Some of them whom had moved to cities in the hope of getting better paid jobs and a secured life were disillusioned by the Corporation's lies, and had since returned back to the villages where the simplier lifestyle actually 'lifted them out of poverty'. And now, it is the same Corporations that are going into such villages to con more victims of slavery.

Any nation can possess the 'vast' industrial capacity that US once had. All it needs are slaves, locals or imported foreigners, whom are willing to sacrifice themselves, live to work for the Corporations and not work to live as US had once been, an enlightened superpower till the Corporation got too greedy, preferring to swim in their horded dollars than to share it around as their more honest forefathers had once done

There is no need for war with China, or need for any wars. China will implode on itself, the way USSR did. Only thing is will the masses be awakened to the sleight of hand techniques employed by the CCP to remain as a 'democratic' dictatorship of shadow govt or not.


[edit on 21-8-2010 by SeekerofTruth101]

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


What many people fail to realize is that the current factory workers and help desk operators e.t.c will lay the seed for there children , grand kids and great grand kids to become engineers and doctors of various sciences and so on . China is reaching the end of its supply of cheap labour and in time the seeds are going to bear a much skilled economy that maintains the high industrial capacity I just mentioned .

Unfortunately, the slave worker's salary of $100 a month isn't gonna afford the courses to become doctors, engineers or lawyers, and with a country's huge social spending to feed 1.3 billion mouths to fund education fair and equitably.

The only ones who will become engineers, doctors and lawyers will come from the selfish rich families, whom for show may throw a pathetic bone or 2 to a few of the masses to show they 'care'. And it will these new generations of educated whom will protect and ensure the continuance of such slavery out of gratitude to their forebares that made their opportunities possible.

In the end, the masses are still screwed, unless wealth is fairly redistributed and everyone, no matter the differences, are given equal opportunities to succeed and to live.

Failure to rise in life will then fall on those whom are given the opportunities to excel, yet chosed to ignore them.,for no civilise society will leave anyone behind

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


Gee your a bit short sighted . In the Post War period Japan started out as a low wage economy that produced poor quality goods . Now look how Japan progressed since then . Although I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this topic .

Cheers xpert11.

reply to post by xpert11


Not necessarily, as the facts are self evident. Post war japan was a nation of equaility, every single bit of wealth they had, had been confisicated to pay the war debts.

Everyone started equal except for the rats known as the Royal family. It was through sheer grit and hard work, along with adoption of the american constitution they progressed.

I can't say as much for the CCP and their bootlickers waving their red cards and getting priviledge access to all things tantamount to corruption of the highest degree. The noble communist no longer exists after the cultural revolution where children were taught and forced by peer naive pressure to tortured and murder such noble figures who gave their lives to elevate the masses, only an ideal to be corrupted by the despot Mao.

All that exists are Mao's bootlickers and their following equally bootlicking generations.

Pardon me, but facts are facts and are undeniable if we seek the truth for improvement and furtherance of humanity's common goals. Sorry.

reply to post by David9176


but we all saw this coming. ATS was reporting interesting facts on this for weeks!! thanks again ATS, i read you loud and clear!!

Originally posted by SeekerofTruth101
, every single bit of wealth they had, had been confisicated to pay the war debts.

No such thing happened .

, along with adoption of the american constitution they progressed.

Its more of a blend of the American and parliamentary systems .

The noble communist no longer exists after the cultural revolution where children were taught and forced by peer naive pressure to tortured and murder such noble figures who gave their lives to elevate the masses, only an ideal to be corrupted by the despot Mao.

What are you on about ?

I am pinning my faith on the US.

If 2nd and 3rd are China and Japan - God help whales, God help everyone

The illegal murder of whales carries on in NZ waters.

Help us, US!