Even if China's gross domestic product1 is measured using its official, undervalued exchangerate, its economy is far bigger than those of G-8 members like Canada or Italy — and almost threetimes the size of Russia's. If one values China 's economy using another approach, purchasingpower parity, then it is already easily the biggest economy outside the U. S.

　　As it happens, France invited China's new leader —Hu Jintao — to Evian. But Mr. Hu may be thesecond most important man in the world, and he deserves a place in a Group of 9. On short andlong term issues that the G-8 grapples with — from dealing with North Korea to preventing globalwarming — the two key players in the world are China and the U. S. And it's ridiculous to includeRussia in the G-8 but not China.

　　Several objections can be raised to expanding the G-8 to include China: It's a summit meeting forindustrialized nations, and China isn't one . It's true that China has more peasants than any countryin the world, but it also has more industrialists. Hey, it's China.

　　China exports more manufactured goods than Canada, Italy or Russia; it is launching a spaceprogram to put a man on the moon; its biotechnology is superb. And while the industrialization ofChina is still in its early stages, the world needs to wrestle with what that means: if the Chinesecome to use as much energy per capita as Americans do, that will amount to more than the totalamount of energy now produced worldwide.

　　China has steadily become more responsible over the years on issues ranging from trade to terror,and in the last few months it has shown real leadership on resolving the North Korean crisis2.

　　President Bush has managed relations with China very well, mostly because Pentagon hawks3 whohad been trying to turn Beijing into The Enemy were distracted by 9 /11. There are real risks that wewill become enemies — there could be clashes between the U. S. and China over Taiwan, the SouthChina Sea — but they will be lessened if we give China opportunities for global leadership.

　　In the meantime, China is too important to leave out in the cold. As the leaders in Evian struggleover SARS, AIDS, Iran and North Korea, they need China within their ranks, as a member of the G-9 .

　　練習(xí)題：

　　Ⅰ. Choices :

　　1. Which countries have less GDP than China does?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France

　　2. Which of the following have less purchasing power than China does?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan

　　3. Which countries export less manufactured goods than China?

　　A. Italy B. Canada C. Russia D. France E. Germany F. Japan

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　Where did this G-8 summit hold?