ZAGREB,Feb.7(Xinhua)--Chinaissettobecometheleaderoftheworld'seconomy,aCroatianexpertsaidinaninterviewwithXinhuaonTuesday.LjuboJurcic,formerCroatianMinisterofEconomyandnowprofessorattheFacultyofEconomicsattheUniversityofZagreb,saidthatduetostrongeconomicgrowthanditshugesize,Chinaisalreadythe"locomotive"oftheglobaleconomy.Inthepast20-30years,theU.S.economyhassloweddownwhiletheChineseeconomyhasbeenrapidlyexpanding,Jurcicsaid.China'sgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)grewtoabout18,000billionU.S.dollarslastyear,meaningitiscurrentlythesecondlargesteconomyintheworld.AccordingtothelatestprojectionbytheInternationalMonetaryFund(IMF),China'seconomyissettoreboundthisyear,asmobilityandactivitypickupaftertheliftingofCOVID-19pandemicrestrictions.Thisinturnwillprovideaboosttotheglobaleconomy.TheIMFreportsaidthattheChineseeconomywillexpand5.2percentthisyear,against3percentlastyear,therebycontributingaquarterofglobalgrowth.Jurcicagreedwiththesepredictions,notingthatalthoughtheCOVID-19pandemicsloweddowntheChineseeconomysomewhat,itisexpectedtoresumestronggrowthaftertherefinementofpandemicmeasuresbythegovernment.Inthelast20-30years,Chinahastransformeditseconomicstructure,andtheChineseeconomyhasbecomemoreresilient,Jurcicsaid.Italsohasahugepopulationandmarket.However,theUnitedStates-ledWesternworldregardsChina'sriseasachallenge,Jurcicstressed,becausethecurrentworldorderisstillbasedonitsreorganizationin1945afterthesecondWorldWar.Nevertheless,ChinawillinevitablyreplacetheUnitedStatesastheglobaleconomicleader,Jurcicsaid.■Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.