The Chinese economy eclipsed the Japanese economy in size in the second quarter after Japan posted poor economic growth figures for the period, increasing the chances that China will officially overtake Japan as the worldâs second-largest economy for the year. The Japanese economy grew at an annualised, seasonally-adjusted pace of 0.4 per cent in the three months ended June. That was much lower than the revised 4.4 per cent growth rate recorded for the first quarter and well below the 2.3 per cent expected by economists. âThe symbolism of this moment is far greater than its actual significance,â according to Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University and former head of the IMFâs China division. âIn terms of both influence and dynamism, China outstripped Japan a long time ago.â Japanese economic output in the second quarter was $1,288bn compared with Chinese economic output of $1,337bn, according to a Japanese government official. But the official cautioned that the comparison was inappropriate because China, unlike Japan, does not produce seasonally adjusted data. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/935ac446-a8d7-11df-86dd-00144feabdc0.html Wealth is shifting east.