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| Beijing, China |
World News -- The U.S is no longer the world’s largest economy, a position
it has held since 1872. Data provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
indicates that China, the most populous nation in the World, will have an
economic output of $17.6 trillion against the United States’ $17.4 trillion by end of 2014.
Who ever imagined that a country that produced a third of
what Americans produced in 2000 could surge ahead and overtake America in
slightly more than a decade?
This now means that China accounts for 16.5% of the global
economic output compared to America’s 16.3%.
The IMF arrived at the figures by measuring purchasing power
parity (PPP), which doesn’t take into account the fluctuations in exchange
rate. However, the United States still
remains ahead by GDP Per Capita because of China’s huge population (1.3 billion people).
China Simply went back to where it belongs
China was the wealthiest country in the world before it was
briefly overtaken by Britain in 19th century. Britain held the spot for four
years, losing it to America in 1870. China has reclaimed the spot in 2014.
Good News for Africa
So how will this world news impact on Africa? In the past decade or so, many African countries have looked
east in droves. This is mainly due to the fact that China is only concerns itself with business and does
not tell African governments how to govern their countries. It is also said to provide favorable trade terms which allow mutual benefit, with no
threats of sanctions, travel advisories, etc. Those who were skeptic about
China’s ability to take Africa forward will now sleep easy - Africa's economy is in the right hands or is it?
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