A Global Times article (January 29) exulted that "the economic output of China, the world's second-largest economy, came a step closer to the size of the US' GDP, breaking through the 70 per cent mark in 2020 when the world economy took a heavy blow from the raging coronavirus" It quoted experts as saying the proportion is forecast to rise this year. It cited data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, which on January 28 showed that the US' GDP declined 3.5 per cent in 2020 on a yearly basis. It observed that "the record decline is the first negative reading since the financial crisis in 2009 and the lowest since 1946", adding that "the pandemic has depressed consumer spending and business investment, putting many Americans into unemployment and poverty". The article said that "based on the newly released figure, China's nominal GDP reaches 70.4 per cent of that of the US, up from the 67 per cent proportion in 2019". It quoted a report released in December by the UK-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) which forecast that China will overtake the US to become the world's largest economy by 2028, five years earlier than previously forecast. The Global Times "attributed this to China's "skilful" management of COVID-19, which will boost its relative growth compared to the US and Europe in the coming years".
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