The changing shape of the world economy -- China's incomplete transformation, or what it means to age before becoming rich -- Turning point or countdown to crisis? -- China's growing international footprint -- Twenty-first-century rivalry? Chinese and US views of each other -- China and global governance -- The inside game -- The outside game -- Partners and rivals: the uneasy relationship.

"Until the global financial crisis, China was thought to be decades away from overtaking the United States as the world's largest economy. But while the US skirted economic stagnation, China was able to successfully navigate the crisis, and its growth continues to accelerate. Has the time arrived to re-evaluate our assumptions about the current world order? Will China openly contest the United States' status, unchallenged since the Second World War, as a world leader? Will conflict be inevitable, or would its costs be unthinkable in a globalized world economy?"--Front flap.

Includes bibliographical references and index.