 China accounted for around one-quarter of the global GDP until the late 1700s and approximately one-third of the global GDP in 1820 as the Industrial Revolution was beginning in Great Britain.China's GDP in 1820 was six times as large as Britain’s, the largest economy in Europe — and almost 20 times the GDP of the nascent United States.Ancient Chinese coinage and money was introduced to Japan about 1500 years ago during the during early Han dynasty.