"In any case for China to succeed, it will need to become more innovative and competitive not just on cost but quality. To do that, it needs to compete with the best in the world. Thus, America will be key. So, China needs America. And, to state the obvious, America needs China too. The 1.3 billion people in China represent an under-developed market that could benefit the U.S. as well as the rest of the world. Although still poor, cities like Beijing and Shanghai already offer middle income consumers, who are much in demand now as the U.S. and Europe slowly recover. It could help with America's re-balancing which is towards exports, so selling to overseas consumers instead of relying too much on debt-fuelled domestic consumption. The U.S. may just need to get used to not being the world's sole economic power. But, the rest of the world would benefit from having more than one engine of growth, particularly if there is more than one large market to sell to. Finally, there is one more thing to bear in mind should the world end up with two economic superpowers that look rather different. As the distinguished economist John Kenneth Galbraith observed: "Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23456018