The Chinese Century: The Rising Chinese Economy and Its Impact on the Global Economy, the Balance of Power, and Your Job

Chapter 9. China Rising

The rise of China at the dawn of the twenty-first century is not only about a flood of cheap imports, the decline of certain segments of the manufacturing sector in other countries, or the offshore transfer of jobs—as important as these trends are. It would be no exaggeration to say that China's rise is a watershed event that will change the global landscape and that is on par with the ascent of the United States of America as a global economic, political, and military power a century earlier. If current trends continue, China will surpass the U.S. to become the world's largest economy (in purchasing-power parity terms) in two decades—possibly sooner. Crossing this benchmark has little practical significance but will symbolize ...