For two consecutive quarters, China's GDP has climbed higher than that of Japan, making the Chinese economy the second largest in the world.

The Japanese Government on November 15 reported the country's GDP at $1.37 trillion in the third quarter, compared with China's $1.42 trillion. Japan still leads with $3.97 trillion for the January-September period. But if the current pace of growth continues, China is expected to surpass Japan for the entire year of 2010.

China's leap past Japan is a reflection of the former's economic boom in the past decades, said Guo Tianyong, Director of the Research Center of China's Banking Industry at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

However, this success is far from guaranteed since China's economy faces a number of problems, such as its over-reliance on investments and environmental pollution, he said.

Learning lessons from Japan, China should expand domestic demand and step up its clampdown on asset bubbles, said Guo.

China still has a long way to go toward prosperity as its per-capita GDP is only $3,800, ranking 108th in the world, said Zhao Xijun, Deputy Director of the Financial and Securities Institute at the Renmin University of China.

Meanwhile, efforts are also needed to bolster the country's technological expertise, innovation capacity, brand competitiveness and education, he said.