[Fee]

Today we have a five polar world. US, European Union, China, Russia and India. These countries have large populations, land mass and resources. Japan is no longer considered a major power in the large scheme of things. Russia is the most flexible of the five. She can play China and the US against each other. She can sell more weapons to China for hard cash, if the US complains, she will want her debt restructured. If she gets too close to the West, China will complain and Russia will want consumer goods at lower bartered prices. India and China are natural enemies due to previous history and geography. The US and China will clash over interests in the Far East. If the US falls back from the Far East, I think tensions with China will be lesser. China's serious historical threats always came from a huge land mass powers (Russia and India) on her land borders. Can China be a rich country, yes, but her huge population will weigh her down. I think China will be a regional power but not a world power.

[borghead]

Its the huge population that will make China rich and powerful. Russia can be a major threat to China's security but not india, that country is simply too weak and geographically disadvantaged to be an effective counter weight.