Estimating a country's true economic strength is a complicated business. China should be mature enough to focus on its economic weaknesses rather than gloating over its accession to the title of ‘Number One in the world’.

According to Svenska Dagbladet (Swedish Daily), the World Bank has estimated that China’s GDP will shortly surpass its US counterpart to become the largest economy in the world based on purchasing power parity.

The assertion that China should be ranked ‘Number One in the world’ based only on the purchasing power index is not so persuasive. China now is rational and alert to such rankings. This particular ranking is based on the purchasing power parity calculation - although in theory this assessment can offset such factors as the manipulation of exchange rates, the calculation remains open to widespread misinterpretation.

According to the Economist, the purchasing power of the Renminbi is overestimated. The claim that China’s GDP ranks first based only on its purchasing power is unconvincing.

In 2013 China’s per capita GDP was 6,629 US dollars - 30 times more than in 1980. But the number is far below the US rating of 51,200 US dollars. Even if its economy continues to grow at the present rate, it will take China at least 35 years to achieve the per capita GDP of the US. It is therefore ridiculous to assert that China’s GDP surpasses that of the US.

China also lags behind other countries in economic soft power. China is not as sophisticated as the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, Israel and South Korea in innovation. Although China has beefed up its R&D investment in science and technology, that investment remains only 60% of its US counterpart. There is a huge gap between China and the US in terms of soft power. China has no cause to rest on its laurels over its ranking of ‘Number One in the world’.

This article was edited and translated from 《“全球第一”的高帽中国戴不起》, source: the Beijing News, Author: Feng Guangyuan