You're more right than you know. Many people thought that Japan was going to be the global economic hegemon. This was based entirely on the pace of their economic growth over about two decades combined with some odd quirks of international finance. But as it turned out that prediction was off, by a lot. Today Japan is still strong but their economy is troubled and nobody thinks that they are poised to control the world. And now we see people making similar predictions about China. Again based on a short period of economic growth combined with some odd quirks of international finance. But it's no more true this time than last. China has some very fundamental, deep seated flaws in its governance, society, economy, and industry. And it's likely that those flaws will become more apparent and become more of a drag on Chinese economic growth as the country gets wealthier and more modern.