A senior Beijing official's reference to China as the “world's second-largest economy” has sparked excited speculation that Asia's new powerhouse may have already reached a long-looming milestone by surpassing Japan.
China's rapid recent growth has made it increasingly likely that its gross domestic product, in US dollar terms, will be larger this year than Japan's. However, the vagaries of international currency movements mean such a result is far from assured.
Observers eagerly awaiting what will be a symbol of shifting global economic power on Friday seized on a remark by Yi Gang, director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, about China's growth prospects.
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