Currently, China has been growing so fast it's been over heating with 10% plus year over year GDP Growth.
Of course, her biggest trading partner is the United States of America and right now our economy and Middle Class Consumer has stopped spending, this is putting the brakes on the Chinese economic momentum.
In 2008, China passed Germany for the third largest economy in the world with $3.
6 Billion GDP.
In 2009, it appears that China's huge growth may slow, but it will still have positive growth.
Japan has seen a decrease in its GDP in 2008 and is expected to have a negative growth in 2009 also, giving a boost for China's quest to be number two in the World in GDP, as it heads for Super Power Status.
  Germany is also in a negative growth state; recession.
Now, you must understand China is not going to break any speed records in 2009, but it will return to full-military power as soon as the US does, and that will be within a couple of years.
Anyone that counts China out now, is just lost in fantasy land.
  Economically speaking, China is has Germany in her rear view mirror and that is where Germany will stay.
Japan is dead ahead and if and when Taiwan and China get back together it will put China into second place where she will stay for about 20-years until she passes the United States of America.
It may as well be written in stone unless some unforeseen "Black Swan" appears.
Please consider all this.