It is true. They probably will lose that status for a decade. The only potential country to surpass US is probably China in like 20-30 years if things continue to proceed well.
It's pretty sad though considering even after 9/11 the US was still looked upon as the main leader for finance and economy. And I agree with you that China (or possibly Russia) will surpass the US, if things continue going down the hill in the next few months.
Won't China's economy collapse if the US collapses? If the US stops consuming products manufactured in China it's going to have a major impact on their economy. Not to mention they own a substanial amount of our debt.
I have 3 points to why I would disagree. 1. Well one thing is, if the US`s economy collapses, people will still buy everyday stuff. Like cheaply produced goods made of plastic. For example, plastic forks, plastic bottles, cheap toys for kids. Some things from China I don`t see the demand changing much. 2. Their own building of new infrastructure within China produces jobs, and should continue. 3. China has other major trading partners. http://resources.alibaba.com/article/48519/China_s_net_exports_have_totaled_US_801_3_bln_so_far.htm So if the US's economy "collapses", it would not mean China's economy would collapse. Would it slow down China's economy? Yes, however it doesn't mean China's economy would be in danger of a collapse.
When I was growing up a lot of cheap products came from Taiwan, but they transformed their economy and moved into manufacturing electronics. I wouldn't be surprised if China does as well (ie manufacturing cars) and China will need to outsource their manufacturing to other countries to take advantage of cheaper labor costs (ie Vietnam, Africa, & Cambodia). China is susceptible to inflation and if raw material costs continue to rise then China's trade surplus will continue to shrink around the world.
