"Chinese economy overtakes the U.S.’s to become the largest."
Options
cobbland
Members Posts: 3,768 ✭✭✭✭✭
Someone explain this in laymen's terms????
It’s official: America is now No. 2
Published: Dec 4, 2014 11:18 a.m. ET
Chinese economy overtakes the U.S.’s to become the largest
By
BRETT ARENDS COLUMNIST
A Bank of China branch under construction early this year in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.
Hang on to your hats, America.
And throw away that big, fat styrofoam finger while you’re about it.
There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: We’re no longer No. 1. Today, we’re No. 2. Yes, it’s official. The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet.
It just happened — and almost nobody noticed.
The International Monetary Fund recently released the latest numbers for the world economy. And when you measure national economic output in “real” terms of goods and services, China will this year produce $17.6 trillion — compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.A.
As recently as 2000, we produced nearly three times as much as the Chinese.
To put the numbers slightly differently, China now accounts for 16.5% of the global economy when measured in real purchasing-power terms, compared with 16.3% for the U.S.
This latest economic earthquake follows the development last year when China surpassed the U.S. for the first time in terms of global trade.
I reported on this looming development over two years ago, but the moment came sooner than I or anyone else had predicted. China’s recent decision to bring gross domestic product calculations in line with international standards has revealed activity that had previously gone uncounted.
These calculations are based on a well-established and widely used economic measure known as purchasing-power parity (or PPP), which measures the actual output as opposed to fluctuations in exchange rates. So a Starbucks venti Frappucino served in Beijing counts the same as a venti Frappucino served in Minneapolis, regardless of what happens to be going on among foreign-exchange traders.
PPP is the real way of comparing economies. It is one reported by the IMF and was, for example, the one used by McKinsey & Co. consultants back in the 1990s when they undertook a study of economic productivity on behalf of the British government.
Yes, when you look at mere international exchange rates, the U.S. economy remains bigger than that of China, allegedly by almost 70%. But such measures, although they are widely followed, are largely meaningless. Does the U.S. economy really shrink if the dollar falls 10% on international currency markets? Does the recent plunge in the yen mean the Japanese economy is vanishing before our eyes?
Back in 2012, when I first reported on these figures, the IMF tried to challenge the importance of PPP. I was not surprised. It is not in anyone’s interest at the IMF that people in the Western world start focusing too much on the sheer extent of China’s power. But the PPP data come from the IMF, not from me. And it is noteworthy that when the IMF’s official World Economic Outlook compares countries by their share of world output, it does so using PPP.
Yes, all statistics are open to various quibbles. It is perfectly possible China’s latest numbers overstate output — or understate them. That may also be true of U.S. GDP figures. But the IMF data are the best we have.
Make no mistake: This is a geopolitical earthquake with a high reading on the Richter scale. Throughout history, political and military power have always depended on economic power. Britain was the workshop of the world before she ruled the waves. And it was Britain’s relative economic decline that preceded the collapse of her power. And it was a similar story with previous hegemonic powers such as France and Spain.
This will not change anything tomorrow or next week, but it will change almost everything in the longer term. We have lived in a world dominated by the U.S. since at least 1945 and, in many ways, since the late 19th century. And we have lived for 200 years — since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 — in a world dominated by two reasonably democratic, constitutional countries in Great Britain and the U.S.A. For all their flaws, the two countries have been in the vanguard worldwide in terms of civil liberties, democratic processes and constitutional rights.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-official-america-is-now-no-2-2014-12-04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJX4Z87-9-MComments
-
Not reading all that ? but biggest economy does not mean best economy
-
This was inevitable, they're the world's most populous country. China is simply doing what they should've done a long time ago due to sheer size. However this is an oversimplistic outlook or comparison for a few reasons, for one China's GDP per capita is less than one-quarter that of the US.
So obviously 'largest' in this context shouldn't be misinterpreted as 'best' or 'wealthiest.' -
honestly. i feel that this was the right thing to happen. the West's strangle hold on economic power has lessened to an unprecedented extent during our lifetime so far. i see this as more of a balancing act. you cant honestly tell me that a country of 318Mil should have more of an economic pull than a country of 1.3bil.
Now they just need to get rid of their tyrannical government and things will progress faster in my opinion. -
It was only a matter of time. Americans on avg still make more money but Russia will be very happy to hear this, it means their economy won't completely collapse now
-
honestly. i feel that this was the right thing to happen. the West's strangle hold on economic power has lessened to an unprecedented extent during our lifetime so far. i see this as more of a balancing act. you cant honestly tell me that a country of 318Mil should have more of an economic pull than a country of 1.3bil.
Now they just need to get rid of their tyrannical government and things will progress faster in my opinion.
If China got rid of their government anytime soon the entire system would collapse. -
So what has having the 'best' economy done for the people in the US? still loads of poverty, millions without health insurance, flawed Educational system, high crime rate and so on.
Holland>>>>UsA>>>>China.
thats right, yall ain't got nothing on us lol. -
Political prowes wise China has been ? on the US for atleast 8 years now.
Asia is where its at nowadays. New investments, ridiculous amounts of projects, from real estate to cities, to ports to new ways of living/entertainment. From China to Indonesia, countries are on the rise and are still decades away from their prime.
Ive lived in China and have been living here in Indo for the past couple years and the amount of change and creativity Ive witnessed goes beyond anything Ive seen in the States and Europe. New franchises, bigger, better, ports and harbors nobody in the west heard of that rival Rotterdam..(3rd biggest port in the world).
theyre Building ? here out in the East that are going to be the Standard for the rrst of the world. -
My only concern is the gottdamn petrol/car industry. We need to go electric now. The supply is there, China already has all them electric car factories and daimler benz etc but the titans in the industry still maintain the natural resources/oil ? and that will ? up our planet.
so we need a political front/alliance against petrol based cars asap. -
-
The user and all related content has been deleted.
-
? it's not even 2050 like they were projecting.
-
most of the people in china are poor as ? and life sucks there but the uneducated are easily fooled by numbers. china expanded with no thought given to the environment and you can hardly breathe if you visit their capital city not to mention the government is on levels of renaissance italy corruption. Just through pure size their economy was destined to be a major one but if you honestly look at all factors they are far behind the usa in many many many areas. to make it worse their avarice is threatening war in asia
-
As long as they don't let that housing bubble they've built over there burst and send the entire world into an economic collapse then more power to them.
-
i am really excited to hear how this news about China means THATkingblaze84 wrote: »Russia will be very happy to hear this, it means their economy won't completely collapse now
America still has the whole "didn't need the US to save us from the Nazis" thingSo what has having the 'best' economy done for the people in the US? still loads of poverty, millions without health insurance, flawed Educational system, high crime rate and so on.
Holland>>>>UsA>>>>China.
thats right, yall ain't got nothing on us lol.
YOU'RE WELCOME
"as long as" being the operative partAs long as they don't let that housing bubble they've built over there burst and send the entire world into an economic collapse then more power to them.
-
China overtakes the US as world's largest economy
The U.S. no longer boasts the world's largest economy.
China, the world's most populous country, has overtaken America to claim the title of world's number one economic powerhouse, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
By year's end, China's economic output will reach $17.6 trillion – the U.S. will slide down to second with a mere $17.4 trillion.
Just over a decade ago, in 2000, the Americans produced three-times as much as the Chinese, MarketWatch noted. The Chinese economy was one-tenth the size of the U.S. in 1980, according to the Financial Times (FT).
China's growth means it now accounts for 16.5 percent of the world's economy, according to the financial news site. The U.S. is holding down 16.3 percent.
The IMF made the calculations by measuring purchasing-power parity (PPP), which does not account for fluctuations in exchange rates when measuring economies.
Similar goods cost the same in both Shanghai and New York, as far as PPP is concerned.
Experts have predicted this monumental shift in economic power for years. It was never a question of if, but rather when.
The U.S. sat atop the world economic perch since 1872, when it passed Great Britain. The Brits only held the title for a handful of years, though, according to FT.
Who did Great Britain surpass to claim the temporary perch? China, of course. The Chinese had the world's largest economy as late as 1870, an economic historian told the paper.
Despite the inevitability of the world's most populous country assuming the top of the economic food chain, China's ascension carries a rather large caveat.
The per-person Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is less than one-quarter that of the U.S., according to FT. It is still far from being the world's wealthiest nation.
That distinction remains American.
-
Idgaf bout the china man
-
Lets see how long china lasts with its fuckery.
-
? America.
-
China stuntin. And tensions are high in the US.
Now would be a perfect time for China to make its version of Suge's "Come to Death Row" speech.
-
1,000,000,000 + Chinese
330,000,000+ Americans -
this thread was made in China
-
Lol @ mere 17.4 trillion.Stomp Johnson wrote: »China stuntin. And tensions are high in the US.
Now would be a perfect time for China to make its version of Suge's "Come to Death Row" speech.
Nah china treats Africans like ? in china.....this by no means affects their business dealings with the continent of Africa, when it comes to taking a continents resources everyone can look past color.
It's funny though how much the chinks and sand ? r making inroads in the u.s. economy but what does America do to respond to the threat of competition from the arab and Asian world......they ? ? .
That's right, good to know no matter what Russia, China etc does America has control of the real problem.....? . -
Wow. I knew it would happen at some point.
-
-
Somewhere a Republican jumped out a window.
![[Deleted User]](https://w1.vanillicon.com/v2/15efd8efe08bb34aae25f1808aaf5018.svg)
