Two centuries ago, China and India combined to produce 50 percent of the world's gross domestic product. After 200 years of political and economic turbulence-including ongoing, rapid economic development since the 1980s-China has returned to prominence, with the second-ranked GDP globally and a 9 percent share of the worldwide total.
The Chinese are well aware of their standing, too, says Dr. George Lehman, the Howard Raid professor of business at Bluffton University, who saw change in China firsthand for two weeks in June.