12 years from now

From an international survey conducted by a German research organization:

More and more people in China and other leading countries expect China to have the same influence as the US in the future, according to an international opinion poll conducted by the Bertelsmann Stiftung this September with 9,000 respondents in every region of the world. On average, 50% of those surveyed would already call China a world power alongside the US...

In terms of the future, 57% of people around the globe expected China to be a superpower in 2020, while a mere 61% thought the US would still hold this position. Among Chinese respondents, 80% believed their country would play a global role, but only 59% thought the US would be a world power at that date...

The most important characteristic of a global player, reported Chinese respondents, was economic power and growth (74%), followed by political stability (70%) and military strength (59%). The emphasis on military strength was especially pronounced in China. On average, military power is cited much less frequently worldwide in this context...

Summarizing the study, Josef Janning, Head of International Relations at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, noted, "People's future expectations hold enormous sway over policymaking. All over the world, people see the US losing its dominant position in future."

Interesting. 2020 is only 12 years away. Seems like a short time, but 12 years ago it was 1995. I guess "shift happens"...