Forbes: Helen H. Wang

When China’s president Hu Jintao visits the U. S. this week, he will see a nervous America that seems to have lost its confidence. I have been on many radio talk shows recently to discuss my new book The Chinese Dream, the most common question I was asked is “Is China going to take over this country as our economy collapses?”

Americans today have become scared and paranoid. Such sentiments are not helped by doomsayers who have predicted America’s decline. In a recent article in Foreign Policy, Gideon Rachman, a foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, tells Americans that in the fable of the boy crying wolf the boy was eventually right: “The wolf did arrive – and China is the wolf.”

Rachman cited China’s population, its economic prowess, and its holding of $2.5 trillion in foreign reserves as evidence that China will replace the U.S. as a global hegemony. He lamented “America will never again experience the global dominance … those days are over.”

I disagree with Rachman’s assessment that growing Chinese economic clout will necessarily pose a threat to America. I have written about the myths of China as a superpower and global manufacturing power here and here. Today, however, I’d like to focus on what makes America a great country to begin with. Continue reading Think Again: America’s Best Days Are Still Ahead