This rather sober assessment of Chinese strength is colored
first by continuing uncertainty over whether China can sustain its
high growth rates of the past two decades and second by the recognition
that even if these growth rates were sustained, siphoning off
resources for power-political purposes is unlikely to be either easy or
effortless given the vast domestic development demands Beijing will
have to service before it can lay claim to a managerial role at the core
of the global system.9