And yet there's no shortage of people in the west who keep insisting it's only a matter of time before China supplants the United States. I don't know if it's wishful thinking on their part, or they're just that stupid, but either way a lot of people have positioned themselves to lose their shirts when China's economy finally kicks the bucket.
While its possible for China to supplant us its not possible under the CCP.
Quite simply put they violate the fundamentals of chinese culture in too primal a way to ever really capitalize on the countries potential.