America's superpower panic in the face of a rising China

GLOBAL superpowers have always found it painful to acknowledge their relative decline and deal with fast-rising challengers. Today, the United States finds itself in this situation with regard to China. A century and a half ago, imperial Britain faced a similar competitive threat from America. And in the 17th century, the Dutch Republic was the superpower and England the challenger.

History suggests that the global superpower sh…