>>, if Lake is correct than China's economy is roughly 1/2 that of the U.S, this is unrealistic
The figure is from the CIA factbook, which says China is the world's second largest economy now.
This is with purchasing power parity. It means that in China 1 dollar can purchase more than a dollar here in the U.S. The total number of $$ that China economy pumps out is far less than 4.5 trillion. Maybe 40% of that.