not to mention their advances in astrology, weaponry, fine clothing, war tactics etc. The Chinese made ships that would embarrass anything the Western world was capable of making for centuries. Their political culture isn't particularly suited for a modern world, which is why they have done so poorly in the last few centuries, but as someone else said, these folks have been around as a cohesive society for thousands of years. A few hundred years of playing second fiddle to a Western upstart, such as the United States, is but a blip on their radar screen.
I am not convinced they have what it takes to challenge the United States in the future, politically and culturally, but the US isn't necessarily maintaining any of the political values that made us great (federalism, constitutionalism, individualism, liberalism in its classic sense, etc.) If you just look at how our leaders, the media, and our political cousins, the Europeans, have responded to Islamic bullying over the cartoon incident, I wouldn't say we're necessarily beaming with confidence over our own values as a culture.
And it is said, those who have no confidence in their culture, have no reason to defend it.
The modern world is replete with examples of overseas Chinese who became economically wealthy and even dominant within a generation or two once they were in an environment which allowed economic freedom. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are all countries which were backward in the 1950's and relatively prosperous today thanks to a Chinese entrepreneural class.
The US has the oldest constitution on the planet.