sisyphos
An economy is the general term for all the activities involved in producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services in a specific area. So yes the EU does fall into that definition. The only problem is that individual national agendas will always dictate over EU agendas. The US doesn’t have this problem.
Regarding GDP, yep no argument there. If we start looking at average incomes though in both countries and living standards it is obvious China has a serious problem. To keep a lid on national unrest because of the growing disparity between the “haves” and the “have not’s”, China must maintain a high growth rate. It’s a very delicate type rope walk between sustainable economic growth and overheating the economy. I believe that 10%+ economic growth rates year on year will result in a catastrophic melt down. If we also see economic sanctions placed on China by both Europe and the US as it is starting to appear they may do, this will only make things worse.
Unfortunately the western world is fast approaching a protectionist stance against China and other developing nations. No one is a winner with this but the nations with the highest growth rates will suffer the most.