China is a super power. I don't believe poor living standards preclude it from being so. The Chinese exert huge influence over the Asia region. It's why your starting to see USA place a lot of emphasis on a military presence in the Asia region.
The interesting thing is a lot of the countries in the Asia/Pac region primarily trade with China, even US allies (e.g. Australia). If the US starts to get agressive (in the cold-war sense) within the region, at what point does economics trump allies?
The interesting thing is a lot of the countries in the Asia/Pac region primarily trade with China, even US allies (e.g. Australia). If the US starts to get agressive (in the cold-war sense) within the region, at what point does economics trump allies?