China has overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy in the second quarter, according to new figures out Monday. Japan's economic growth has been stagnant in recent months while China's economy is growing about 10 percent a year. Japan held the No. 2 slot since 1968.
LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: NPR's business news starts with China's growing economy.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: China is wielding new economic power. After three decades of remarkable growth, the country has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy. That's according to new figures this morning. Japan's economic growth has been stagnant, while China's economy is growing about 10 percent a year. Japan has held the number two slot since 1968, but a property bubble in the '80s and the so-called lost decade of the '90s has sapped the country's growth.</s>LINDA WERTHEIMER, host: Second-largest doesn't mean second-richest, though, because of China's much larger population. China's per capita income is just $3,600 a year, compared to nearly $38,000 in Japan.