China's economy grew to become the world's third-largest in 2007 reflecting the country's amazing ability to overcome yet another milestone in its stunning rise in the global pecking order.

China has grown tenfold in the past 30 years, and the revised data released Wednesday of 13 percent growth in 2007 shows it leapfrogged ahead of Germany.

According to reports, China could overtake Japan, the world's second largest economy, in merely three to four years. Surpassing the U.S. is another matter.

The development is symbolic since on average, the 1.3 billion people in China are among the world's poorest. However the the new ranking shows the country's rapid growth as it has transformed itself from a longtime isolated nation to the factory of the world.

The government revised its estimate of 2007 growth from an already high 11.9 percent to 13 percent, the fastest rate since 1994. Revisions were not explained.

The latest report comes as China's export-driven economy struggles to reverse a slump caused by global economic turmoil.

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