America vs China Not a Zero-Sum Game
If an alien intelligence were monitoring news on Earth, they would probably assume China was eating America’s lunch.
It makes sense. America has seen easier times.
The global order the United States established is in crisis, America’s uncoordinated response to coronavirus eroded the credibility of its ossified institutions, and the resurgence of nationalist politics on the right and emergence of culture wars on the left suggests a nation almost splitting apart.
No wonder pundits often question whether the Chinese model is a better one than that of liberal democracy. Such talk is not unfounded. China turned the pandemic into a testament of its strength, growing its economy at a record 18.3% in 2021 so far — its biggest jump in GDP since 1992.
But, to conclude that America is failing due to China’s success is to confuse correlation with causation.
China is a competitor, not a predator. America’s dominance may be in the process of being hollowed, but this is largely a result of internal factors, not external ones. Growing political dysfunction and weakening economic dynamism are tunneling an existential hole through the shining city on the hill. China is not doing this to America.
