China vs. the United States -- the count so far: China 20 medals, including 13 gold; the United States 21medals, but only seven gold.
And, er, China 17, the U.S. 16, but not till next year:
New projections indicate a weak dollar, failing trade agreements and an economy flirting with a recession will permit China to overtake the U.S. as the world's leading manufacturer four years earlier than previously predicted.
In an analysis undertaken for the U.K.'s Financial Times, Global Insight, a U.S. economics consulting agency, found China will account for 17 percent of manufacturing value added output and the U.S. will account for 16 percent.
Considering China's population, did anyone not see this coming? I saw one story with an interesting set of numbers: The U.S. held the No. 1 spot for about 100 years. China held it for 1,800 years, up to about 1840, when the Industrial Revolution made Brirain the world's leading manufacturer.
Oh, well. Silver medal for us.
