As China gains on the world's most advanced economies, the country excites fascination as well as fear, particularly in the United States, where many worry that China will supplant America as the 21st century's superpower. Many ask how China has grown so much so fast, whether the Communist Party can stay in power and what Beijing's expanding global influence means for the rest of us. But to understand China's new role on the world stage, it helps to rethink several misconceptions that dominate Western thinking.
China's rise is marginalizing American influence in Asia.
Just the opposite. Certainly, China's power in Asia is growing; its economy is now the biggest in the region, and China is the largest trading partner for every Asian nation. And its military modernization has made the People's Liberation Army a more lethal fighting force.