Yea this is it. The US' level of development, natural geography, resources, and land mass gives it a certain baseline level of power that it's not really ever going to fall below world power status. It can stumble, and fuck up really hard and still recover in a way a smaller, weaker state cannot. Even if China overtakes the US, China lives in a much tougher neighbourhood than the US and is hemmed in on all sides by US allies or countries that will fall into America's orbit as a way to balance against China.
China has to deal with Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, Australia and other minor regional powers in its immediate area. Who could conceivably be a counter weight to America in the American hemisphere? Venezuela? Lol.
Yea this is it. The US' level of development, natural geography, resources, and land mass gives it a certain baseline level of power that it's not really ever going to fall below world power status. It can stumble, and fuck up really hard and still recover in a way a smaller, weaker state cannot. Even if China overtakes the US, China lives in a much tougher neighbourhood than the US and is hemmed in on all sides by US allies or countries that will fall into America's orbit as a way to balance against China. China has to deal with Japan, South Korea, Russia, India, Australia and other minor regional powers in its immediate area. Who could conceivably be a counter weight to America in the American hemisphere? Venezuela? Lol.