China’s Rise: Should the U.S. be Concerned?

For many years, the U.S. has enjoyed so much publicity and honor as it tagged as the last remaining superpower and having the largest economy in the whole world. With a GDP of over $14 trillion, the U.S. enjoys being tagged as the center for global manufacturing and financial sector. Also, having a per capita income of $46,381 indicates that Americans have one of the highest qualities of living in the world. That is why the sudden boom on the Chinese economy has caused a certain sense in urgency for the U.S.

Recent figures showed that China’s economy has replaced Japan as the second largest economy in the world. In the April-to-June quarter, China’s nominal GDP accounted to $1.335 trillion compared to Japan’s $1.286 trillion. Although Japan’s economy never really shrunk, the growth was slower. Also, the Chinese economic boom was dubbed as miraculous having become the number 1 exporting country in the world. A power shift is expected in the next couple of years as China might decide to assert its power and influence unto the world.

There have been frequent debates and arguments with regards to the concerns of the U.S. on the sudden rise of China. Some feared that the sudden shift in power will result in conflict and aggression. Recently, the U.S. has expressed concern on China’s ambitious plan to fully occupy the controversial Spratlys islands and deploy naval troops there. The U.S. has mentioned that China should resolve that matter along with other claimants in a peaceful way. The Chinese naval presence has been continuously expanding and covering more space than ever before.

Despite having the 2nd largest economy in the world, China still has internal issues such as only having $3,999 in per capita income. It is still home to some of the poorest people in the world while Japan enjoys a $41,366 per capita income which is one of the highest in the world. China still needs to scatter the wealth if it wants to overtake the U.S. and claim the number one spot.

The possibility of a U.S.-China conflict is still inevitable as both countries are totally dependent with each other especially when talking about trade. I don’t see anything wrong about the sudden rise in power by China. The only thing that the world has to be concern of is when China decides to be aggressive. Nevertheless, a productive China will still benefit a lot of countries such as the U.S. as trade and economic activity will be very much active.