ABSTRACT
In recent years, the spectacular growth of China has attracted increasing attention from both academics and policymakers. Measured by market exchange rates and using official government figures, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached US$4.9 trillion in 2009. China has surpassed Germany as the third largest economy in the world and is poised to overtake Japan as the second largest economy in 2010. In the face of an ongoing global financial crisis and a looming exchange rate row with the US, the pace of economic growth in China may slow. However, to combat slower economic growth, the Chinese government has been implementing a stimulus package worth more than US$580 billion. Forecasts of the current growth rate of China vary, but most expect that it will have a growth rate in excess of 8 per cent in 2010.
