London
China will overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a think tank said.
“For some time, an overarching theme of global economics has been the economic and soft power struggle between the US and China,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in an annual report published on Saturday. “The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favor.”
The CEBR said China’s “skillful management of the pandemic,” with its strict early lockdown, and hits to long-term growth in the West meant China’s relative economic performance had improved.
China looked set for average economic growth of 5.7 percent a year from 2021-25 before slowing to 4.5 percent a year from 2026-30.—AN
