China's economy outpaces UK

Times:

CHINA’S economic growth has accelerated in the first quarter of this year, belying forecasts that the Asian nation’s breakneck boom was moderating and also pushing its economy firmly ahead of Britain into fourth place in the world.

Output in the first three months of this year is estimated to be 10.2 per cent higher than in the same period of 2005. This blistering pace, which even the Chinese authorities believe to be unsustainable, is likely to raise pressure on President Hu Jintao during his visit this week to Washington to take more decisive steps to allow China’s currency to rise faster.

Mr Hu revealed the figure in a televised meeting with a visiting politician from Taiwan. The growth marks a pick-up from last year’s fourth quarter, when GDP rose by 9.9 per cent from a year earlier. China’s GDP expanded on average by 10 per cent a year between 2003 and 2005, taking the country past the output of Italy, France and, most recently, Britain. Only the US, Japan and Germany have economies larger than China’s.

Evidence that China’s economy is accelerating, rather than moderating, as hoped, could also fuel further speculation in commodity markets. The prices of several industrial metals and materials hit new highs last week, driven in part by demand from China to meet its boom in construction, manufacturing and transport.

...

My speculation is that the US, Japan and Germany are the three in front. I wonder if it was the cement mixer I bought from Harbor Freight that put them over the top. If you are tempted, beware, major assembly is required.