China Passes Japan to Become World's Second Largest Economy (CYB)

China has officially overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, the result of years of spectacular growth. Depending on how fast its exchange rate rises, China is on course to overtake the United States and vault into the No.1 spot sometime around 2025, according to projections by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others. The WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund CYB, which seeks to earn current income reflective of money market rates in China available to foreign investors, is up 0.16% today, to $24.99. According to a Reuters report, "China came close to surpassing Japan in 2009 and the disclosure by a senior official that it had now done so comes as no surprise. Indeed, Yi Gang, China's chief currency regulator, mentioned the milestone in passing in remarks published on Friday." "China is still a developing country, and we should be wise enough to know ourselves," Yi said, when asked whether the time was ripe for the yuan to become an international currency.