From Overseas Press

Kissinger: China won't be next superpower

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-06-21 13:06

China will not dominate the current century while the US will continue to maintain its position in the world as the most influential country, predicts former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, according to Canada's CTV website and the website of the Globe and Mail.

"On any foreseeable outcome, over the next 25 years, the United States is still probably going to be, overall, the strongest nation in the world -- still will have the largest economy in the world," said Kissinger, who appeared in Toronto for the annual Munk Debates.

However, "China will be preoccupied with economic problems internally, problems domestically, with its international environment, and I have enormous difficulty imagining a world dominated by China," Kissinger said. "I believe the concept that some country will dominate the world is a misunderstanding of the world in which we live."

China must create millions of jobs every year, millions of workers leave the countryside to live in the city, while many more migrate back and forth, Kissinger said, which pose significant challenges. He also cited some figures that suggest the country will, in 30 years, have only two working-age people for every pensioner.

Also, "The next decade will see China trying to bring its political institutions in line with its economic change," Kissinger said. "I do not believe that a country that will be so preoccupied with this fundamental change will also have the time to dominate the world."

Kissinger admits that China's neighbors would help to contain its rise, arguing that a balance of power must be used to deal with China and regulate international relations in the future.

"We can draw lines," he said, referring to the world's ability to check Chinese geopolitical hegemony in East Asia. "But we have to be selective in where we draw the lines."