The New York Times this morning reported official statistics confirming something that had been predicted or proclaimed several times recently: China has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy.

Says The Times: "The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking evidence yet that China’s ascendance is for real and that the rest of the world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower."

The newspaper quickly noted another familiar China refrain, which is that the country wants to diversify beyond exports and investment (massive funding for infrastructure) to a healthier domestic economy.

Most conversations about China's future, especially with economic analysts here, include some variation of the phrase "domestic consumption" -- that is, more people buying more stuff, big and small, in China. As that happens, the domestic economy should grow and the dependence on the export market in these fickle times should lessen.

All of which brings to mind, in my corner of the world, a new bicycle.

After finishing brunch yesterday afternoon, Meg and I decided to buy ourselves a pair of bikes. The sky was unusually blue and there weren't too many tourists on the streets; a walk up Gulou Dongdajie to take a look at the shops there seemed like a pleasant idea.

We ducked into a store and there were bicycles of every size and description.

Beijing is a flat city, and most here opt for plain bicycles with no gears. As a good American consumer, though, my eyes went greedily to the more expensive row of models -- fancy things with descriptions of high-tech materials, shock absorbers and such.

The primate-shopper part of my brain started to rationalize paying more cash for a bike that was bigger and tougher. Super-size it!

Then I remembered -- this is China. If I pay a lot of money for something and it breaks, I have little recourse. The store probably wouldn't exchange the bike, and the prospect of a refund would be close to nil. It is the land of caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware: If your purchase falls apart, there's nothing you can do.

I felt badly about thinking that way. The store was nice, and the staff seemed great.

But still, there's a general uneasiness that comes from a few unfortunate purchases and a local economy awash with stories of fake and, at times, unsafe products. From deadly milk to luxury apartments that begin to fall apart -- coupled with a lack of consumer protection that closely parallels a lack of rule of law -- I've heard or seen too many examples of bad consumer experiences to put much money on the counter.

During my language lessons earlier this year one teacher spent a full session discussing shanzhai; a word that roughly means something is a copy or knock-off, but that also conveys a broader sense of things here sometimes being cheaply made and undependable. (The lesson was occasioned by telling the teacher that my tea thermos, from a local market, exploded hot water all over my hands that morning.)

The problem is much more serious than my petty purchases. A story carried in state media earlier this month quoted a senior researcher at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as saying that more than half of China's existing structures will need to be demolished in the next two decades. "Only those homes built after 1999 are likely to be preserved in the longer term," said Chen Huai, director of the policy research center at the ministry.

And I'm not sure how much confidence there is in post-1999 construction.

For a country that wants to drive up domestic consumption, widespread worries about product quality and scant legal recourse to assuage those concerns is a serious issue.

So, at the shop we both went with very basic but solid-looking models and paid the equivalent of $215 for two bikes. I left the store still vaguely guilty about not having more trust in the local economy.

About two minutes later a piece of my wife's bike fell off on the sidewalk. It was the bell from the handlebar -- an important detail on Beijing's crowded streets that goes a long way toward avoiding an accident.

I went back to the store and said "Two minutes? Is this a joke?" The man screwed the bell back on and gave a little shrug of the shoulders and a smile. What did I expect?

(Gady Epstein at Forbes has posted a smart take on just how big the news about China's move to No. 2 is. Or isn't. "China Economy Doing Better Than Japan" is here.)