Since the end of the Second World War the United States of America has been the undisputed global superpower. However, with the rise of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the late 20th and early 21st century, it’s looking more and more likely that within the century, America will lose its superpower status to the PRC. China has the second largest economy on earth, only behind the United States, and with the largest population on the planet, is it likely that the PRC can overtake the US as a global superpower?

China is considered to be a superpower because of its large economy and massive population. Nonetheless, this will most likely change by the end of this century. Currently, China has a population of 1.4 billion people but is predicted to drop to 700 million by 2100. This is due to the PRC’s “one child policy” which was in effect until 2015. 

Another major argument is that China has had a historic economic rise in the late 20th century which catapulted China into the world’s second largest economy, but China’s record breaking GDP percents have been slowing down in recent years. Over the past few months, the Chinese housing industry, which is the second largest industry in the country, has nearly collapsed. A Chinese housing developer with a debt of 300 million dollars said that the market was under “tremendous pressure” and home prices have fallen 15% since last September. There are quite a few issues that could lead to the collapse of China, but only time can tell which nation will claim superpower status by the end of the century.