Ljs: China v America: how do the two countries compare?

Friday, January 21, 2011

China v America: how do the two countries compare?

As China's leader meets America, we look at the various powers each country yields

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"Hard power meets soft power" is how China's leader visiting America was described, but is it really a fair way to describe these two nations?

As Hu Jintao enjoys some White House hospitality, we take a look at some of the key facts about the two countries the leaders represent. Collecting these facts about the economy, industry and people of America and China gives some clues to just how powerful these two countries are and will be.

Perhaps the most extreme contrast between the two countries was seen in current account balance which shows that the US has been growing the world's largest deficit burden, while China has been running with the world's greatest budget surplus.

The GDP growth was another big contrast, the GPD growth of China is 9.6% compared to just 2.6% for the 3rd quarter of 2010.

Despite these big differences showing China's power for growing, the domestic market capitatlisation given by the world federation of exchanges was still $15tn for the US compared to only $3.6 tn for China.

We have covered before the amount of US stock that China owns, which gives an indication of country power.

So it seems that the balance of power is shifting. What facts would you like to know about America and China?