Leading economist sets the date for Chinese takeover

JIM O'NEILL, the man who invented the acronym BRIC for the rising economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China a decade ago, has called for a radical overhaul of the world's economic institutions, to reflect a new order in which China will be the leading power by 2027.
 
In his new book The Growth Map, being serialised by The Daily Telegraph, O'Neill, the brilliant head of asset management for Goldman Sachs, updates his seminal paper from 2001. "All four of the BRIC countries have exceeded the expectations I had of them," he writes. "Their role in world trade is also expanding faster than we first thought and certainly much faster than world trade overall."
 
O'Neill suggests that the elite G7 group be changed to accommodate this power shift. In particular, China must be brought into the club. It has become the world's second largest economy and O'Neill expects it to catch the US by 2027.
 
In a message that will worry current members, he suggests that the eurozone should have just one position instead of three (Italy is one of them), and that the UK's membership should be reviewed based on its shrinking performance. Brazil is expected to overtake UK GDP this year.

Rather than fight the shift, O'Neill recommends that the established powers embrace BRIC advancement, as they have the potential to lead renewal following the global credit crunch.

"If the BRICs achieve their goals it will be good for the world, and good for us", O'Neill writes, counseling western nations to accept a blow to their pride for long-term benefit.

O'Neill, once described as "Goldman's rock star", also has a new acronym for us to ponder. He predicts that the next bloc to rise to power will be the 'MIKT' nations of Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Korea. ·