[code_duck]

> USA, UK, Europe and the Western world will just be a distant memory when China and India start becoming major players.

As individual entities, perhaps. As a bloc? NATO member countries total population is about 800 million, if I'm not mistaken. The Western world is hardly going to disappear.

[vorg]

Not just a bloc of NATO countries, but also with Russia, which seems to be eagerly invited into organizations such as G8 (= G7 + Russia). With Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, the total population of such a bloc is 1 billion. I can forsee the US, France, Germany, and Russia soon forming a proto-military alliance, to give them the option to counter-balance China if they need to one day.

And of course the US, unlike China, has immigration as its foundation. They could accept, say, 20 million educated and/or wealthy immigrants from China over the next 20 years, with no shortage of takers ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2660178 ), which would strengthen America and weaken China.

[dimmuborgir]

Russia has always been against NATO and lately it is pushing hard for a strong SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) [1] which is branded as Russia's/China's answer to NATO.

The current major issue with SCO though is it needs either India or Pakistan or both as its members to make it a formidable military alliance. But since India and Pakistan are archrivals there are differences between Russia, which has always backed India, and China, which has always backed Pakistan.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Cooperation_Organisati...

[cabalamat]

> Russia has always been against NATO and lately it is pushing hard for a strong SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) [1] which is branded as Russia's/China's answer to NATO.

This is true. In the long term, Russia needs to decide whether it wants to be a satellite of China, or part of NATO / the West.

Bear in mind that SCO isn't actually a military alliance (with mutual defence obligations) yet, although it may become so in the future.

[w1ntermute]

> They could accept, say, 20 million educated and/or wealthy immigrants from China over the next 20 years, with no shortage of takers ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2660178 ), which would strengthen America and weaken China.

This is the best way to weaken China. In fact, it's the best way to weaken any poor country. Just pay the best people they have to come to your country and become permanent citizens. It's still not too late. Within 20-25 years, there may be no advantage for them, but right now, there is still something for the Chinese to gain by moving here.

[iaskwhy]

You don't even need to pay people to move, you just need to have a better society (and get rid of all the immigration laws which prevent this from happening).

[bane]

Don't forget the rest of the Americas! (And Australia/New Zealand!)

[code_duck]

I thought it might be presumptuous to assume that South America wanted anything to do with us... if I, personally, was South America I wouldn't, at this point.

[bane]

Well, I'm assuming "Western World" to include all of the Americas, though I admit that term is highly ambiguous.