China becomes the world's second-largest economy
- Date
- 2010
- Category
- Economy & trade
- Region
- China
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
In 2010 China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product, a position Japan had held since 1968. Chinese output passed Japan's during the year, with full-year figures confirming the shift in early 2011.
The milestone capped roughly three decades of double-digit and high single-digit growth following the market reforms begun under Deng Xiaoping, driven by manufacturing, exports, urbanisation and massive investment. It marked a symbolic turning point in the global economic order, placing China second only to the United States and fuelling forecasts that it might eventually become the largest economy. The rise reshaped commodity markets, global trade flows and geopolitics, expanded China's diplomatic leverage, and intensified debate in Washington and elsewhere about strategic competition. While per-capita income remained far below that of developed nations, the aggregate scale of China's economy made it indispensable to global growth.
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- China joins the World Trade Organization11 December 2001
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Further reading
The wider story
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
Best-selling world history told through the trade routes that moved goods, faiths and ideas.
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