According to news reports, in 2009 China surpassed Germany as the world’s top exporter. China’s exports for 2009 were more than $2 trillion, slightly ahead of Germany, at $1.2 trillion. The last two months of the year saw the strongest increase, and helped China’s gross exports surge.
“This is just one more step by China in attaining economic size commensurate with its population,” said Arthur Kroeber, managing director of Dragonomics, an economic research firm in Beijing. Germany has a population of about 80 million, while China’s population is about 1.3 billion.
“The next big news will be when China surpasses Japan to become the world’s second-biggest economy,” Kroeber said. Analysts say that is likely to happen this year.
Read the full article in the Washington Post here