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April 15, 2010
The emergence of China as the new economic superpower means the decline of the US as an economic superpower, though not as military superpower. The incumbent superpower is still hegemonic. This historic reordering happened rather quickly---it appears that the global financial crisis was the catalyst---even though China's rise to great power status has been driven by its economic development.
After centuries of dominance by powers outside Asia or on its periphery – Russia, Britain, the US and Japan – China is reasserting the sway it held for most of its history and is exerting pressure in new areas. It is now a global power with responsibilities and influence that extend beyond its immediate national interests.
Though, China is not liberalizing into a liberal democratic/ capitalist regime, nor is it aligning itself with the West to resolve the world's most pressing problems, there is a tilt away from America and towards China by Japan. Australians accept that our future is with China.
Some Americans interpret this in terms of China as a growing threat to the United States. China and the United States are on their way to a global rivalry akin to what took place during the Cold War. Only this time, the United States is declining, and the PRC is far more sophisticated than the Soviets.
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Yeeks, the yellow peril- head for the hills!!