After the United States, Japan has the world's second largest economy but China is rapidly moving to overtake Japan. Although I am not surprised by China's economic growth, I was very surprised to see just how fast their economic expansion is taking place. While Japan's economy grew by "4.6% for the year" making the total value of Japan's GDP $5.273 Trillion, China has been growing at an annual rate twice as fast; between 8-10% each year. China's economy currently has a GDP valued at $4.906 trillion dollars and is expected to pass Japan sometime this year. "The United States remains the world's largest economy, with a value of about $14 trillion. "
Do you believe that China will pass the United States as well? How long do you think it might take?
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/15/news/international/japan_gdp.cnnw/index.htm
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I do think China is going to surpass the United States. Already China owns a lot of our debt; they are continuing to rise economically as many other countries (including the U.S.) are floundering to get out of recessions.
ReplyDeleteAs Professor McKinney said in class today, from an economic perspective the United States has the most varied and valuable resources. While we may be going through some tough times, I think our economy will still remain one of the strongest in the world for quite some time because we are so diversified. The only way I can see this trend changing is if our net imports grow at such an overwhelming rate that we begin using most of our own money to support to specialty consumer goods and technology that are China's main exports. And seeing our country's trend of consuming non-local goods, I think that this is a valid concern. However, I think the U.S. has the economic strength to hold onto its title as long as we're smart about the implications of our actions as individual consumers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what bridgett said above. They are just catching up, but i do not think they will ever pass us because of our vast amount of resources. As long as some major event happens to our country I dont see us being overtaken anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't see them passing us. We are in a bump in the road right now but soon it'll be smooth sailing once again.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the U.S will most likely remain a significant force, perhaps the most significant force, in the world for the foreseeable future. However, I feel that the fact that China's population of close to a billion and a half people (more than one billion more people than the U.S), combined with China's extremely rapid development, makes it almost certain that China will eventually replace the U.S as the world's number one economy in terms of GDP. Nor, do I think that resources will prove much of an obstacle to China's growth. China itself is by no means resource starved(one of the driving forces behind the Japanese invasion of China in WWII was China's relatively abundant natural resources), especially if one is counting labor as a resource, and it has relatively easy access to resources from nearby places like Australia. Moreover, as an earlier post mentioned, China is taking steps to ensure its future supply of resources by investing and building good relations with resource-rich African nations.
ReplyDeleteI see the Population as both a boon and a bust for china, it creates the ability for very very rapid growth with the "catch up effect" but such an immense population will begin to consume enormous amounts of resources especially if it starts to expand at a faster pace than it already is. Think of how many jobs will have to be created each year to meet the graduating college students demands, how many resources will go into sustaing the population what happens if those resources become to polluted to be thought of as a viable resource ( polluted rivers ect.) The growth in China is rapid and strong. But unless something changes it will be unsustainable and i think there will reach a peak at some point. maybe many years down the road but there will be a peak. When the communist government can no longer provide for the majority of its people it will be replaced, and turmoil will take over.
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