Accessibility links
Will China Overtake The US? : The Indicator from Planet Money China is so big and growing so fast that many people say it will inevitably become a bigger economy than the U.S. in every way. But there are several good reasons for skepticism.

The Indicator from Planet Money

Will China Overtake The US?

Will China Overtake The US?

Listen ยท 9:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/721881130/730624847" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
U.S. and Chinese flags hang outside a hotel during a U.S. presidential election event organized by the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Nov. 7, 2012.
Enlarge this image
Andy Wong/AP
U.S. and Chinese flags hang outside a hotel during a U.S. presidential election event organized by the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Nov. 7, 2012.
Andy Wong/AP

Right now, the U.S. economy is the biggest in the world. It produces roughly $20 trillion worth of goods and services every year. China produces about $13 trillion worth of goods, so it's still a bit behind.

But China's economy is growing more than twice as fast as America's and China is a much bigger country in terms of land and population. Plug those factors into a spreadsheet, and it seems inevitable that eventually China will have a bigger overall economy than the United States.

George Magnus doesn't agree. He's an academic and the author of a book about China called Red Flags: Why Xi's China Is in Jeopardy. And he says there are three reasons why China's rise to overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy is not inevitable.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, PocketCasts and NPR One.