China's Q3 GDP was US$1.415 trillion, meaning it surpassed Japan as the second biggest economy in the world for the second quarter in a row, according to data released last week by the National Statistics Bureau.

Official data from Japan put its Q3 GDP at US$1.372 trillion, a month-on-month increase of 0.9 percent. Q2 GDP figures for China and Japan were US$1.33 trillion and US$1.28 trillion respectively.

The Japanese government maintains Japan is still the second biggest economy in the world because its total GDP over the first three quarters was US$3.967 trillion, higher than China's US$3.947 trillion. But the Kyodo News Agency predicts Japanese growth will slacken in Q4 and GDP may even contract, while China's GDP will continue to increase. It is forecasting China's whole-year output will exceed that of Japan.

China's business press carried the story above on Tuesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.