[Fee]

China by its geography will never reach super power status because unlike the US she has two competing superpowers on her border - India and Russia. China may complain about Western imperialism/colonialism, but these foreign powers occupied only a small fraction of her territories and the occupation did not last more than 100 years. A land mass power on the other hand is a different matter. China was conquered and defeated by the Mongolians, Kaitai (early Manchurians) and Manchurians, and severely raided by the Huns and other Central Asian nomadic groups - all are landmass powers. If China becomes a powerful and destabilizing power, she would threaten India and Russia as well as the US. The three powers can combine at any time to neutralize her. The US has to be awfully stupid to piss off Russia, India and China simultaneously. I don't think our leaders are that dumb (GOP or Democrat).

[borghead]

That is very true. You can also add Japan to the lot. So China's strategy would be the to weaken all three. Looks like they are doing it. Russia is not only very weak but also China's strategic partner. India is rising but still far weaker than China, and its surrounded by Chinese client states that serves to contain its influence. Japan is economically dependent upon China and it is declining. So in essence none of the major powers around China has the desire and the capability to seriously threaten China. With this in mind then it is only a matter of time before economics makes China the richest and most powerful nation of them all. So far this strategy appears to be working.