We are unwilling to hang powerlines. [2]
China is going to win economically. That usually also equates to militarily.
[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-17754256
[2] Too many to cite, but for starters: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/aegis/ph-a...
The fact that there was an article almost ten years ago titled "china invades Africa" which talked about the Chinese resource grabbing in Africa illustrated the long term plans.
The us political system is an utter joke, and we will lose the economy pretty fast.
Oligarchs in the us can only think about five years out. I'd say the only long term thinker in the us currently is musk, even with all his flaws, he is building real systems of longevity.
Everything else is ephemeral.