BEIJING - China still has a long way to go to improve its economy, despite formally overtaking Japan as the world's second largest economy, experts said.
Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) reached $5.47 trillion last year, compared to $5.88 trillion for China, Japan's Cabinet Office said on Monday.
Japan became the world's second largest economy, after the United States, in 1968 on the back of its post-war recovery.
China overtook Germany in 2007 to become the world's third biggest economy.
"It is not a surprise that China overtook Japan," said Lu Zhengwei, senior economist with the Shanghai-based Industrial Bank.
However, economists pointed out that China's per capita GDP was only about 10 percent of Japan's. "We should not overestimate our GDP figure as China's population is 1.3 billion, 10 times bigger than Japan's," said Yi Xianrong, economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top think tank. China's per capita GDP was about $4,300 in 2010, and income levels have been falling behind economic growth for years.
Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said in January that the country has a huge population, a weak economic foundation, few resources and many people are mired in poverty. "Therefore, while we take note of our expanding economic size and strength, we should also soberly understand that China remains a developing nation."
The World Bank estimates that more than 100 million Chinese people - nearly the size of Japan's entire population - live on less than $2 a day.
The China Youth Daily described China's expansion as an "empty happiness" as the country's economic development was at the expense of cheap labor and environmental degradation, while the quality of life, including education, social security and healthcare, still lags far behind developed countries.
Yuan Gangming, research fellow at the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, said that in the next three to five years, China is likely to maintain a growth rate between 8 and 10 percent. However, for an improved quality of life and healthy, sustained growth, the country must invest more in areas such as human resources, the underdeveloped western regions, and social security, he said.
Zheng Xinli, permanent vice-chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, also said the country should continue its reforms and improve its economic structure to avoid the "middle-income trap". The term was coined by the World Bank to describe stagnation in a country when its per capita GDP reached $3,000.
"In the past 30 years, China developed because of reform and opening-up. In the coming two decades, we need more reforms to further unleash the potential of development," he said.
He predicted urbanization will be the biggest driving force for China's economy. One person moving into a city can create economic value of 100,000 yuan, he said. In the next 10 years, 200 million Chinese people will move into cities and towns, with a potential to add 20 trillion yuan to the economy over the decade, he estimated.
Sustained economic growth in China also helps other economies in the world, including Japan. The Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said: "We welcome China's economic advancement as a neighboring country," according to Kyodo News. Japan's economy has benefited from China's rapid growth, initially as businesses shifted production here to take advantage of lower costs, and as local incomes rose, by tapping an increasingly lucrative market for Japanese goods.
經過三十年的壯觀增長，中國終于超過日本，成為僅次于美國之后的世界第二大經濟體。日本內閣府發(fā)布的數據顯示，日本2010年名義GDP（國內生產總值）為54742億美元，比中國少4044億美元，中國GDP超過日本正式成為第二大經濟體。
大約10年前，中國還是世界第七大經濟體，2007年超越德國成為世界第三。中國經濟規(guī)模何時能超越日本一直是近些年來國內外經濟學家關注的話題。
事實上，中國經濟規(guī)模從去年第二季度起就超過日本。當時的數據顯示，日本第二季度的GDP（國內生產總值）為1.28萬億美元，而中國的二季度GDP為1.33萬億美元。
中日兩國全年經濟排名的懸念直到昨天才正式揭曉。日本內閣府昨天公布的初步數據顯示，去除物價變動因素且經季節(jié)調整后，2010年第四季度日本實際GDP環(huán)比下降0.3%，按年率計算下降1.1%，這是日本經濟五個季度來首次出現負增長，最終，2010年日本名義GDP為54742億美元，比中國少4044億美元，這也是1968年以來日本經濟首次退居世界第三。
美國《華爾街日報》用“一個時代的結束”來形容這一歷史性時刻。中國社會科學院經濟研究所研究員、日本東京大學社會科學研究所客座教授袁鋼明昨天再次強調，國際上衡量國富國窮的指標是人均GDP，“目前中國人均GDP只是日本的十分之一，中國還是一個‘窮國’的事實并沒有改變，國內媒體應該淡化這一變化，避免國際輿論借機再度炒作‘中國經濟威脅論’”。
Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) reached $5.47 trillion last year, compared to $5.88 trillion for China, Japan's Cabinet Office said on Monday.
Japan became the world's second largest economy, after the United States, in 1968 on the back of its post-war recovery.
China overtook Germany in 2007 to become the world's third biggest economy.
"It is not a surprise that China overtook Japan," said Lu Zhengwei, senior economist with the Shanghai-based Industrial Bank.
However, economists pointed out that China's per capita GDP was only about 10 percent of Japan's. "We should not overestimate our GDP figure as China's population is 1.3 billion, 10 times bigger than Japan's," said Yi Xianrong, economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top think tank. China's per capita GDP was about $4,300 in 2010, and income levels have been falling behind economic growth for years.
Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said in January that the country has a huge population, a weak economic foundation, few resources and many people are mired in poverty. "Therefore, while we take note of our expanding economic size and strength, we should also soberly understand that China remains a developing nation."
The World Bank estimates that more than 100 million Chinese people - nearly the size of Japan's entire population - live on less than $2 a day.
The China Youth Daily described China's expansion as an "empty happiness" as the country's economic development was at the expense of cheap labor and environmental degradation, while the quality of life, including education, social security and healthcare, still lags far behind developed countries.
Yuan Gangming, research fellow at the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, said that in the next three to five years, China is likely to maintain a growth rate between 8 and 10 percent. However, for an improved quality of life and healthy, sustained growth, the country must invest more in areas such as human resources, the underdeveloped western regions, and social security, he said.
Zheng Xinli, permanent vice-chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, also said the country should continue its reforms and improve its economic structure to avoid the "middle-income trap". The term was coined by the World Bank to describe stagnation in a country when its per capita GDP reached $3,000.
"In the past 30 years, China developed because of reform and opening-up. In the coming two decades, we need more reforms to further unleash the potential of development," he said.
He predicted urbanization will be the biggest driving force for China's economy. One person moving into a city can create economic value of 100,000 yuan, he said. In the next 10 years, 200 million Chinese people will move into cities and towns, with a potential to add 20 trillion yuan to the economy over the decade, he estimated.
Sustained economic growth in China also helps other economies in the world, including Japan. The Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said: "We welcome China's economic advancement as a neighboring country," according to Kyodo News. Japan's economy has benefited from China's rapid growth, initially as businesses shifted production here to take advantage of lower costs, and as local incomes rose, by tapping an increasingly lucrative market for Japanese goods.
經過三十年的壯觀增長，中國終于超過日本，成為僅次于美國之后的世界第二大經濟體。日本內閣府發(fā)布的數據顯示，日本2010年名義GDP（國內生產總值）為54742億美元，比中國少4044億美元，中國GDP超過日本正式成為第二大經濟體。
大約10年前，中國還是世界第七大經濟體，2007年超越德國成為世界第三。中國經濟規(guī)模何時能超越日本一直是近些年來國內外經濟學家關注的話題。
事實上，中國經濟規(guī)模從去年第二季度起就超過日本。當時的數據顯示，日本第二季度的GDP（國內生產總值）為1.28萬億美元，而中國的二季度GDP為1.33萬億美元。
中日兩國全年經濟排名的懸念直到昨天才正式揭曉。日本內閣府昨天公布的初步數據顯示，去除物價變動因素且經季節(jié)調整后，2010年第四季度日本實際GDP環(huán)比下降0.3%，按年率計算下降1.1%，這是日本經濟五個季度來首次出現負增長，最終，2010年日本名義GDP為54742億美元，比中國少4044億美元，這也是1968年以來日本經濟首次退居世界第三。
美國《華爾街日報》用“一個時代的結束”來形容這一歷史性時刻。中國社會科學院經濟研究所研究員、日本東京大學社會科學研究所客座教授袁鋼明昨天再次強調，國際上衡量國富國窮的指標是人均GDP，“目前中國人均GDP只是日本的十分之一，中國還是一個‘窮國’的事實并沒有改變，國內媒體應該淡化這一變化，避免國際輿論借機再度炒作‘中國經濟威脅論’”。