China became the world's second largest diamond market after the United States in 2009, surpassing 2008's runner-up, Japan, the Interactive Investor website reported. According to the Chinese, trade on the Shanghai Diamond Exchange rose by 16.4% last year, amounting to approximately $1.5 billion.



China's official Xinhua news agency, quoted by the website, said that the year-on-year rise, which defied the global financial crisis, was due to China's boisterous economic growth in 2009, which reached 8.7%. Xinhua added: "As the economy continued to develop in a stable manner, consumer demand for jewelry continued to grow, especially for diamonds for the wedding market. This year, China overtook Japan to become the world's second largest diamond market for consumers behind the United States."

China's increasingly growing middle class and vast pool of diamond and jewelry customers are seen as the key factors which contributed to the reported rise in diamond sales.