Source:The Economist            Date: 14 September, 2011

The decline of the United States may signal the inevitable rise of China. After decades of grappling first with Russia and then with Japan for the United States's supremacy as the world's super power, it now appears as though Mongolia's neighbor to the south may be the next challenger and eventual successor.

The United States concerns regarding China's rise on the world stage may be its best defense against allowing that prophesy to come true.

As long as were worried about the future, the future will be better, said former Economic Advisor to U.S. President Obama, Larry Summers in his farewell address

The economic expert predicted in his book, Eclipse, that China's rise may come sooner than most may expect. China's demography, convergence, and gravity, will drive China's ascent. He believes China's economy has already become the world's largest, however is hindered by its backward nature.

China's production will make up 23 percent of the world's GDP by 2030, while the United States will likely account for less than 12 percent at that time. China's share of global economic power will be equal to that of the United States and Great Britain in 1970, resulting in Summers's conclusion that the world will still be uni-polar rather than multi-polar but with a new master.

The key difference between China and the United States is when the latter took the mantle it did so following World War II and a complete revision of geopolitics. Meanwhile China insisted in a recent statement that it does not desire regional hegemony or a sphere of influence.