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It's been reported this week that the PRC economy has just overtaken the Japanese one as the 2nd biggest in the world with the USA still being number 1. China is set within a decade or two to overhaul the United States for the number 1 spot. My question for you is could a Nationalist China have ever got to position 1/2 by 2011 and how? Also would the ordinary Chinese citizen be better off than under Stallinism/ the 2 way system that predominates there at the moment.
I have heard it said that around 1840, China actually was the number 1 economy, possibly due to opium trading, was this the case and why did it fall then?
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