China`s challenge to the United States and to the earth

Journal Article · Sun Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · World Watch

OSTI ID:508575

Brown, L R; Flavin, C

During the 1990`s, China has emerged as an economic superpower, boasting the world`s second largest economy. It is now challenging not only US economic leadership, but the earth`s environmental limits. Using purchasing power parity to measure output, China`s 1995 GNP of just over $3 trillion exceeded Japan`s $2.6 trillion and trailed only the US output of 6.7 trillion. If the Chinese economy continues to double every eight years, the pace it has maintained since 1980, it will overtake the United States by 2010, becoming the world`s largest economy. Over the past four years the Chinese economy has grown by 10 to 14 percent per year. As its population of 1.2 billion people moves into modern houses, buys cars, refrigerators and television, and shifts to a meat-based diet, the entire world will feel the effects. Already, China`s rapidly rising CO{sub 2} emission account for one-tenth of the global total. The bottom line is that China simply will not be able to follow for long any of the development paths to date, but will be forced to chart a new course with an opportunity to leapfrog the West and show how to build an environmentally sustainable economy. Ten charts graphing China vs US in areas such as grain harvest steal output, oil use, carbon emissions are presented.

• OSTI ID: 508575
• Journal Information: World Watch, Journal Name: World Watch Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 9; ISSN 0896-0615; ISSN WOWAEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
CHINA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT