China’s Problem Isn’t Its Potential But Its Politics
Leaders are right to argue the country’s fundamentals remain strong. Without real reforms, though, they will remain untapped.
Still dominant in manufacturing.
Photographer: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Addressing Americans last week to explain his decision not to seek re-election, President Joe Biden took credit for ensuring China would never overtake the US. “When I came to the office,” Biden said, “the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably pass, surpass the United States. That’s not the case anymore.”
While he never used the phrase, Biden seemed to be subscribing to the “peak China” theory: the idea that a combination of weak economic fundamentals, geopolitical headwinds, and demographic pressures will soon halt the country’s rise relative to the US.