China Wants To Replace The U.S.

Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Of Course China Wants To Replace The U.S. -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

If China becomes the world’s most powerful country, it won’t be satisfied being America’s number two.

Over at The Week, Think Progress’s Zack Beauchamp has a provocative piece arguing that “China is not replacing the United States as the global hegemon. And it never will.” Specifically, Beauchamp posits that “China faces too many internal problems and regional rivals to ever make a real play for global leadership. And even if Beijing could take the global leadership mantle soon, it wouldn’t. China wants to play inside the existing global order’s rules, not change them.”

The piece is well-argued and certainly worth a read. In particular, Beauchamp does us a service in combating the myth of the inevitability of China’s rise. He usefully points out that China’s economy faces a multitude of challenges that may prevent it from reaching the potential many currently foresee. He also points out that China faces powerful neighbors that won’t stand by idly if Beijing seeks to construct a new regional order, much less a global one.

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My Comment: Regular readers of his blog know that I travel to China on a regular basis .... and I have been doing so since the mid-1980s. China has always had a funny relationship with the U.S.. On one hand they envy the wealth and influence that the U.S. possesses, and on the other hand they are critical and suspicious of U.S. policies and motivations .... especially when it comes to Asia. But there is now a growing nationalist sentiment in China .... and they want to be in a position where they can have an influence on global issues even if it means going "head to head" with the U.S.. My prediction .... give China another 30 or 40 years of growth and there is a strong possibility that the U.S. will be replaced by a nation that decided (and this is where it hurts) to adopt the same economic policies and business mindset that made America the most powerful country in the latter half of the 20th century.