Guangdong's economy will overtake Taiwan's by 2010, governor Huang Huahua told the South China Morning Post. Huang said former leader Deng Xiaoping set Guangdong the goal in 1992 of overtaking the Four Tigers – Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea – in economic terms within 20 years. Guangdong outstripped Hong Kong last year, but it still has a US$8 billion economic deficit with Taiwan. Huang said Guangdong's economy is expanding by US$3 billion every year; US$2 billion more than its neighbor. Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences economist Cheng Jiansan said the province could overtake Taiwan next year or in 2008, but it would take until 2015 at the earliest to surpass South Korea.