The US have the more powerful economy today. But given the above, once China is on a development path then it is simply inevitable that it will overtake the US.
When I say 'time' I'm not looking at the next quarter or next year. That's shortsighted. I'm looking at 20, 50, 100 years.
In fact, I would argue that the US government knows that and that's why they are increasingly alarmed.
Once it is discarded as the "one and only option", once real alternatives emerge, once the US loses its dominance, the US could end up being subjected to the same financial constraints that all countries are used to operate in.
That has the powers that be trying to delay the inevitable.