TOKYO — Japan lost its place as the world's No. 2 economy to China in the second quarter as receding global growth sapped momentum and stunted a shaky recovery.

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of just 0.4 percent, the government said today, far below the annualized 4.4 percent expansion in the first quarter and adding to evidence the global recovery is facing strong headwinds.

The figures underscore China's emergence as an economic power that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed. It is already the biggest exporter, auto buyer and steel producer, and its global influence is expanding.

China has been a major force behind the world's emergence from deep recession, delivering much-needed juice to the U.S., Japan and Europe. Tokyo's latest numbers, however, suggest Chinese demand alone might not be enough for Japan or other economic giants.

"This is a warning sign for all major economies that just focusing on overseas demand won't be sufficient," said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute in Tokyo.

China has surpassed Japan in quarterly GDP figures before, but this time it's unlikely to relinquish the lead.

China's economy will almost certainly be bigger than Japan's at the end of 2010 because of the huge difference in each country's growth rates. China is growing at about 10 percent a year, while Japan's economy is forecast to grow between 2 percent and 3 percent this year. The gap between the size of the two economies at the end of last year was already narrow.

Japan's nominal GDP, which isn't adjusted for price and seasonal variations, was worth $1.286 trillion in the April-to-June quarter compared with $1.335 trillion for China.

Japan has held the No. 2 spot after the U.S. since 1968, when it overtook West Germany. Japan's people are among the world's richest, with a per-capita income of $37,800 last year, compared with China's $3,600. So are Americans at $42,240, their economy still the biggest.