OT - Is America looking over its shoulder

[RN7]

I'm currently over in Kansas. Its a long story but my wife and son are American and my house is now over here and I'm back and forth between the States and Ireland every six or seven weeks. But without trying to start a flame war and from talking to people and looking at the news things don't bode well.

China is a one party communist dictatorship whose citizens have very little rights. It tells its people how many children they can have and crushes and imprisons all dissenters yet it's on the verge of becoming the most powerful country on Earth. Since the end of the Second World War, and economically since the early 20th Century, America has been the dominant political and economic force in the world. But for how much longer?

In 2010 China overtook America as the world's biggest manufacturer after 110 years.
In 2010 China overtook America as the world's largest consumer of energy.
By some statistics China is now the largest producer and consumer of electricity, and may possibly have a larger installed electricity capacity than America who has led the field since the 19th Century.
In 2011 China produced more than half of the worlds steel and more cars and commercial vehicles than America and Japan combined.
In 2012 China spent US$ 106.4 billion on defence, but the US DOD estimates the real unofficial figure to be closer to $200 billion. America is currently slashing its defence budget.
On current trends China's economy will overtake America by 2016 on the basis of purchasing power parity.
On current trends China's economy will overtake America sometime between 2020 and 2030 on the basis of gross domestic product.
China is planning to send people to the moon by 2025, while America currently has no capacity to send people into Earth orbit and is charged $63 million per man to use Russian rockets.

Other Chinese economic statistics are also staggering. It's now the leading producer of a whole range of raw materials and agricultural products, and produces three and a half times as much coal as America which has the world's largest reserves. It also has the largest number of cell/mobile phone users as well as internet and broadband users, and its major road and rail network is second only to America's. Before China was given most favoured trading nation status by America it was a very poor country. But massive American investment over the past 20 years along with investment from Japan and Europe has seen it grow into an economic powerhouse.

Despite an unprecedented Chinese military and industrial espionage campaign against America and the developed world and counterfeit goods accounting for 8% of China's GDP, and record breaking trade imbalances with America fuelled by continued American corporate investment in export orientated industries and the dumping of products targeted to eliminate American competition, the US government has done little or nothing to stop any of it. China has also bought up approximately 20% of all foreign-owned US Treasury securities. However despite all of this America's 12 million manufacturing jobs are still as valuable as China's 100 million plus workers, and they still make products in high end manufacturing and technology that the Chinese just can't compete with. In innovation and education America also still retains its traditional advantages, as you just can't replicate free thinking and a free market economy in a country like China.

China's economic growth is now slowing down. Most of the above figures about economic growth were complied when the Chinese economy was growing at 10% or more per annum. Since 2011 it has slowed to under 8% despite massive Chinese government stimulus since 2009 by spending one US$ trillion on infrastructure and property development to mask the decline and it may soon fall lower. China's economic future now faces a nightmare senario. If the government continues to raise incomes they become uncompetitive and the factories will close as the Americans, Europeans and Japanese move elsewhere. If they don't raise incomes and give people more rights the people will get restless which will destabilise the country and lead to the same problems. Due to the corruption and political uncertainties of the one-party state and the limited economic freedom in an economy dominated by large state owned enterprises, many skilled professionals are either leaving the country or preparing safety nets for themselves abroad. Also the demographic future belongs to America. By 2050 there will be at least 100 million more Americans and that excludes illegal immigrants. By 2050 China will be lucky to have even the same number of people as it has in 2012 due to the one child policy and the now naturally low birth rate and dreadful living conditions. China is cursed by its very own government, a one part communist dictatorship run by elites but America still needs to wake up and soon!