 Set to become a global power, China has won the confidence of the world's investors while the U.S. and other free market nations are losing their appeal. More than any recent American president, Obama displayed deep deference to his Asian counterparts during his visits to the continent last year. Media reports are rife that he did so, in part, because, like many Americans, he has become convinced that this will be Asia's century, and that the United States must begin to accommodate itself to this stark new geopolitical fact.
A recent report by the U.S. National Intelligence Council concluded that the world is witnessing the rise of "major global players similar to the advent of a united Germany in the 19th century and a powerful United States in the early 20th century...[and they] will transform the geopolitical landscape." In the background, however, lies a strong theory, one which contemplates the money story. The economic factor is forecast to be the driving force behind this powerful shift which will bring about a change in how we think and view the global power hegemony. Over the past two years, some of the most important foreign policy thinkers have chronicled America's decline, and argued that Asia is rising to preeminence. Parag Khanna's much-acclaimed "The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order" and Fareed Zakaria's "The Post-American World" are just a few examples.
Meanwhile, the influential former Singaporean ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, who helped spark the "Asian values" debate of the 1990s, released "The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East." Martin Jacques, a prominent columnist for The Guardian, took the idea one step further. In his book "When China Rules the World," he contends that China's rise will have a greater impact on the globe than the emergence of the United States as an international power in the 20th century. And there are numbers to prove it. The Chinese economy is predicted to reach $123 trillion, nearly three times the economic output of the entire globe in 2000. China's per capita income will hit $85,000; more than double the forecast for the European Union, and also much higher than that of India and Japan. In other words, the average Chinese mega city dweller will be living twice as well as the average Frenchman when China goes from a poor country in 2000 to a superrich country in 2040. It is also being estimated that China's share of global GDP will reach 40 percent, exceeding the predicted 14 percent of the United States and 5 percent of the European Union 30 years from now. This is what economic hegemony will look like. Talking about China's domination over American ideals, be it political, economic or social comes with its own interpretation. In economic sense, the Chinese nation is a power waiting to bloom. Household income in China surged in the last six years, putting the country on track to eclipse the United States as the biggest consumer market in a decade. According to a report published by Credit Suisse, an international financial services group, the next big theme for China in the new decade is the rise of private consumption. Growth in household income and estimates of economic growth is expected to raise China's private consumption to reach 23.1 percent of the GDP by 2020, just surpassing the U.S. ratio at 22.9 percent. With a big rise in property and car purchases, investors are betting big in China's consumer sector.  China has already overtaken the U.S. to become the biggest car market in the world. The country sold more than 13.5m vehicles last year, compared with 10.4m cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., the lowest level in 27 years. China's market grew by 45% year-on-year in 2009, providing a rare glimmer of hope for the world's beleaguered car manufacturers, such as General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota. Total industry sales fell 21% in the formerly dominant U.S. market, and Volkswagen announced China as its biggest market. Although China was not expected to exceed the U.S. market until 2020, the speed with which the recession affected consumers in the States combined with incentives from the Beijing government helped buyers accelerate the trend. Analysts estimate the sales to grow by another 20% this year so long as China's economic recovery continued and oil prices remained stable. This in turn is said to badly affect the American economy and employment rates as the automobile industry has been the most productive sector of the American economy.
As China begins to have global economic demands, it has become more involved in global politics. The financial crisis that hit the world in 2008 solidified China's approach to the world, marking the point at which China is finally set to become a global power. The first step that the country has surpassed is the winning of investor confidence. With Western countries, particularly the U.S., retreating from the free market, China's model of economic development guided by a state-dominated industrial policy and combined with authoritarian politics suddenly looks more enticing.
Similarly, the tension over the falling dollar is creating heated debates in the circle where the U.S. has been loudly calling for the Chinese to let the Yuan appreciate, while the Chinese government is reluctant to do so. The subsequent refusal of the Chinese government to revalue the Yuan has its own reasons. China is not ready to abandon currency mercantilism as free markets require. If China ceases subvert currency markets, the Yuan would rise at least 40 percent, thereby making the U.S. trade deficit shrink dramatically. This would result in new demand for American goods which would rocket the U.S. economy, a trend that China doesn't want to emerge for the time being. In the meantime, China is not ready to give up on its "potentially overheating economy" as pointed out by President Obama. So while the world waits for the Asian giant to review its currency policies currently "impeding the rebalancing of the global economy," the dollar is predicted to remain in trouble and so is the American economy. In the political sphere too, China has made rapid developments. Relying on its soft-power approach, the country's influence has expanded rapidly in just the past five years. In Central Asia, for instance, where countries once looked to Russia as the major outside power, nations like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan now look to China for aid and investment. China's money has helped build expansive new networks of roads linking Central Asia to the People's Republic. Intensifying its global approach, China has become more aggressive in Latin America, where Beijing once took a hands-off approach so as not to anger the U.S. Working with Hugo Chavez to reorient Venezuela's oil infrastructure, the country has solidified the relationship by launching training programs for Venezuelan officers, as well as armed forces officers from at least 11 other Latin nations. Chavez, as well as many other Latin leaders, has welcomed a chance to reduce the influence of the United States; Chavez already has vowed to decrease oil exports to the U.S., his major customer, and promised to increase exports to China this year by at least 25%. Making good use of its soft-power, the People's Republic has become the largest aid donor on the African continent, becoming the largest source of foreign direct investment. These initiatives have made Africa - a region historically ravaged by American colonial powers - the third-largest trading partner of China and has further weakened the American political hegemony. While debates continue about U.S.A becoming a colossus with feet of clay; the faltering U.S. economy and the growing public criticism on the American wars and its failure, it seems as if the long-cherished public love for the American land has not subsided. Even at the worst moments, such as the post 9/11, where chaos and dismay ruled the society, people all over the world looked up to the United States for a prosperous life. People may want to spend a few years in China, to see the dynamism of the place, but few, if any, have plans to become Chinese citizens. Perhaps the United States still remains a magnet to draw migrants, who would come seeking the same dreams and openness as they always have in the United States. 
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