Martin Fletcher writes in the Times:
In the magnificent new stadiums of their capital, in front of their fanatical compatriots, China’s Olympians have walloped their American counterparts this past fortnight, capturing 16 more gold medals and ending the global supremacy that US athletes have enjoyed since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It is an outcome that will only deepen the United States’ present funk, with pundits sure to compare China’s inexorable rise with America’s decline, asking when the lines will cross.
The answer is not for a long time – if ever. By almost any measure the US remains in a different league. Its gross domestic product was $13.8trillion last year, dwarfing China’s $3.2 trillion. GDP per capita was $46,000 to China’s $5,300. Of the world’s 30 largest companies, 11 are American and 3 Chinese, according to Fortune magazine.
