Thirdly, the size of a country's economy means less for a nation's prosperity than the economics of its institutions. China learned good lessons from the U.S. financial crisis in 2008 and the Eurozone debt crisis in 2009. The next question is how well China can manage its unstable and unbalanced economy, which may have to depend on its improvements in both regulations and deregulating. It is natural that the Chinese government has been reluctant to acknowledge the "surpassing the United States" because the government fully recognizes the difference between its own economy and that of the United States. Domestically, surpassing the United States would contribute little to China's economic reform. Diplomatically, it would give the world reasonable grounds to ask China to take more responsibility in global issues, such as climate change, and improving labor and environmental standards. Sooner or later, it is inevitable that China will have to take on such international responsibilities. But for the feasible future, China must carefully balance its status as a global economic power with its domestic interests.

Finally, the Chinese public is not overwhelmed by this change. Chinese people are now more realistic than any period since the 1980s. They see the many challenges facing their society, they acknowledge the difficulties facing their government, and they recognize the efforts by their government to further reform. Therefore, whether or not China will be the largest economy in the world is not so significant for the Chinese people or Chinese economists. In China, there is a kind of cultural viewpoint: Hide the brightness and nourish the obscurity. It seems that the outside world has already assumed China's power translates into global influence, but neither the Chinese government nor the Chinese people are ready for that role.

In fact, for a nation with near 1.4 billion people, anything can be too much, while everything can be too little. The former refers to issues in the current Chinese economy that can be gravely serious, if multiplied by its population. The latter refers to China's national wealth. Even with the title of the world's largest GDP, this can translate into very little if it is divided among 1.4 billion people. Moreover, in terms of their economic structure and development models, the United States and China have little in common. Both nations have very unique economic development models with extraordinary political regimes. The best approach is to understand each side, culturally and economically. But, one thing is for certain, the world economy will not sustainable, unless both the U.S. and Chinese economy can be sustainable.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/zhanglijuan.htm

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