US power remains central to geopolitics in 2024 and beyond
Citizens need to be able to put pressure on their governments to adopt foreign policy positions that are best for long-term growth and stability
The US remains the most powerful country in the world in terms of “hard power” — economic and military might. Its GDP (the final value of goods and services produced within one year) was $20.93-trillion in 2022, measured in constant 2015 US dollars. By contrast, the world’s second-largest economy, China, boasted a 2022 GDP of $16.33-trillion. This difference of $4.6-trillion is an extraordinary amount of money; just the difference is 12.75 times the size of SA’s entire economy. To put it plainly, China’s economy is 45 times bigger than SA’s, while the US economy is 58 times larger.
It is not clear how much China’s figures can be trusted, and some serious research suggests that it has inflated its growth figures. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls the data and is willing to rewrite history, one should be sceptical. ..
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