China overtakes Japan as world's second biggest economy

Japan has reported a preliminary 0.3 % decline in GDP (gross domestic product) in the last quarter of 2010 as a government stimulus package which included subsidies on eco-friendly cars came to an end in the previous quarter. Japan's GDP fell by 6.3% in 2009 and 1.2% in 2008. The poor state of the Japanese economy means that China is now clearly ahead of it in terms of economic output after itself producing a 10% GDP rise in the last quarter, making China the second biggest economy in the world after the U.S..