China is slowly but surely moving towards its main economic goal - to become the world's largest economy. Oddly enough, the coronavirus pandemic has only accelerated this process. This is why experts are confident that China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy 5 years earlier than previously estimated.
The Center for Economic and Business Research concluded that in 2028, China may come out on top in the list of leading economies. "For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the United States and China. The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favour," the think tank said. The successful management of the pandemic will be a key factor in this race. At the end of last year, China's economic growth is likely to total 2%, while the US economy might shrink by 5%. Thus, China’s economy will significantly strengthen versus its main rival.
"Other Asian economies are also shooting up the league table. One lesson for western policymakers, who have performed relatively badly during the pandemic, is that they need to pay much more attention to what is happening in Asia rather than simply looking at each other," Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR’s deputy chairman, said.
As for other countries, the list of leading economies will not change much. For example, the UK will remain in the top five economies even after Brexit. In 2019, India managed to surpass the UK. Yet, in 2020, it had fallen behind the UK as a result of a sharp fall in the value of the rupee. However, experts believe that in the long term, India will become the third-largest economy.
