China’s economy set to overtake France and the UK

China’s economy will probably expand at more than four times the pace of Europe and Japan this year as Premier Wen Jiabao boosts consumer spending and encourages investment to ease transport bottlenecks.

The economy, on course to overtake France and Britain to become the world’s fourth largest, will grow by 8.7 per cent after an estimated 9.4 per cent last year, according to the median forecast of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The European Union and Japan expect growth of 1.9 per cent.

..Rising demand in the world’s second-largest oil consumer and biggest user of copper and coal will help buoy commodity prices that reached record highs in 2004, even as the rate of economic growth eases.

The New Zealand Herald