I’ve never been a Kissinger fan, but he is right on with this regarding China becoming a superpower.
The economic power is growing at rates that seem excessive, until you look at the population and potential of rising working and middle class. We can’t stop it. It’s actually in our best interest that it become economically strong.
On the military side of things, they are no match for us but they are gaining technology by leaps and bounds and one day they will be able to compete with us in the Taiwan Straits. It may take 20-30 years but it is coming for our future generations.
They need our consumer market to buy their products. We still have some leverage. It will take time for them to become a responsible nation on the international scene, but once some of these commie hardliners die and become replaced with economic reformers, they could actually be a responsible actor on the int’l scene. We need to trust but verify, but they may not be the big enemy that some think they are - in time.
At current, uncorrected trends, yes.
But they are correctable. Hence, his claims of "inevitability" are egregious and proveable errors.
As Deng Xiaoping said...
"Tell your President we do not have this type of relationship."