In his conquests, Napoleon Bonaparte once famously said of China, “let her sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the world.”  With an economy doubling in size every year since 1979 there is no doubt that China has awoken, but now she appears ready to shake the world. October 1 will mark the 60^th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.  Its celebration will include the marching of 5,000 soldiers that are expected not to blink for periods of up to forty seconds straight, tanks armed with war heads, planes, and the simultaneous release of 60,000 pigeons.  We learned from the 2008 Summer Olympic that the Chinese government can put on a spectacle, but what is truly remarkable these days is China’s investment in alternative energy sources.

It is well documented that by 2020 China will likely over take the United States as the world’s largest economy, what we don’t know is that they will likely get there through green technologies.  China allocated 34 percent of its economic stimulus package money to environmental projects.  Among the world’s largest economies, this percentage was second only to South Korea.  The United States invested just 12 percent of its stimulus package to environmental projects.  Sure, China has greater environmental problems than the United States, but the point is that if you think China will surpass us by out-polluting us and using more natural resources you are wrong.

While continuing to develop low-cost manufacturing of solar, wind, and batteries, China is also trying to develop the world’s largest market for these technologies.  Last year China made 40 percent of the world’s solar panels, while consuming none.  With the help of the stimulus package, China aims to pass Germany in the next two years to become the world’s market consumption leader.  The United States’ largest solar panel producer, Applied Materials, will soon open the world’s largest privately funded solar research facility—in China.  By the end of this year the nation also expects to surpass the US as the world’s largest producer of wind generation.

A major benefit of an authoritarian government is that it does not need to waste time debating back in forth in Congress.  There are no interest groups to argue in favor of the status quo, and the media is unable to criticize its decisions.  Instead, China can eliminate inefficiencies and allocate its resources to markets that are successful. Moreover, it can get done what needs to be done. Although President Obama allocated $50 billion of his stimulus package to developing alternative energies, the United States has not equaled China’s sense of urgency on the matter.  The centrality of inexpensive and abundant oil to the vitality and growth of the American economy was huge in the 20^th century. Unfortunately, we are currently no longer living in the 20^th century.  Throughout history the nation that invests the most in science and technology proves to be the strongest.  The unparalleled innovative nature of Americans may mean it is not too late to remain the world’s leader into the 21^st century, but the green dragon has gotten off to a formidable head start.