The Trends Research Institute has long forecast China’s emergence as a global economic power. The 20th century was America’s century. As trends are developing, the 21st century will be China’s.
Last year one of our Top Trends was “Buy, Sell China,” which detailed the opportunities on what to sell to them and buy from them.
Another one of last year’s top trends was “Silicon Valley: Rustbelt 2.0,” which demonstrated that China would outpace the US, once the world’s innovation leader, in high-tech.
Why? Because the business of China is business, and the business of America is war. China’s interest is buying up the world. And as President Donald “I’m gonna bomb the shit out of ’em” Trump has made perfectly clear, the business of America is blowing up the world.
Indeed, while America spends trillions building its military industrial complex, the Chinese government spends trillions on building its economic strength. From infrastructure improvements, speeding up high-tech, A-I, Internet development, to advanced manufacturing and innovation enterprises, to foreign acquisitions of ports, industries and airports… China is on the fast track to becoming the master of economic globalization.
There is no greater example than China’s One Belt One Road Initiative, a 21st century version of the 206 BC – 220 AD Silk Road trade routes that linked China, Europe, India and other counries on the Afro-Eurasian landmass.
China lists 68 nations as partners in its Belt and Road Initiative that links Asia, Africa and Europe. According to McKinsey & Co., the Initiative has the potential to boost a region that will contribute 80 percent of global economic growth and vault 3 billion more people into the middle class by 2050.
In China, Beijing sets the economic agenda and the business community follows. We call this an “inside-out” government strategy. Right or wrong in their decisions, their focus is on the growth of the entire nation.
In the United States, it’s an “outside in” strategy. Washington takes its orders from powerful corporations and special interest groups who give them campaign contributions, i.e. bribes and payoffs. In DC, it’s not the betterment of the country that’s their focus, but rather on enriching those who enrich them.
TREND FORECAST: The world will, indeed, “Follow The Yellow Silk Road.” The trend lines make it clear: China, already the world’s number two economy and the world’s largest trading nation, will continue to expand its presence on the world economic stage in 2018.
Should its annual Gross Domestic Product continue growing at a rate of 6.5 percent to 6.9 percent, while the US slogs along at around 2.5 percent, China’s GDP will overtake the US level by about 2026. And China’s middle class, exceeding 50 percent by then, also will overtake the US percentage of people in the middle class.