China think tank predicts 2010 GDP to top 37 trillion yuan

BEIJING, (AFP) - China's gross domestic product will exceed 37 trillion yuan in 2010, a top government think tank predicted, as Beijing looks to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy for the full year.

The figure, given by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is equivalent to 5.4354 trillion dollars, based on AFP calculations using the average yuan/dollar rate in the first nine months given by the central bank.

The Chinese economy is expected to grow by around 10 percent this year from the year before and per capita GDP may reach 4,000 dollars, CASS said in its annual Blue Book of China's Society launched on Wednesday.

China eclipsed Japan in the second quarter, as the archipelago nation was hit by cooling exports and flat domestic consumption in the April-June period.

Japan said earlier this month that it remained ahead for the first nine months, thanks to strong growth in the first quarter. But since then it has been outperformed by China, a trend that is expected to continue.

Asia's rising giant again beat Japan in the third quarter, with nominal GDP at 1.415 trillion dollars compared with Japan's 1.369 trillion, according to Japanese figures and an IMF yuan-dollar rate.

China is expected to release its full-year GDP data in January, while Japan will give its preliminary figures in mid-February.