Free market vs growth model: The US-China power struggle is just beginning

Standoff reflects an escalating economic and military rivalry between a status quo power and one of the most remarkable growth miracles in history

Chinese President Xi Jinping has an ambitious master plan for his country’s transformation into a wealthy, technology-driven global economic power. And US companies need not apply.

That’s why the current trade rumble between the US and China, in which the Trump administration is threatening to slap tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports and Beijing promises to respond in kind, is far more than just a spat over market restrictions, intellectual property rights and the epic US deficit.

On a deeper level, the standoff reflects an escalating economic and military rivalry between a status quo power and one of the most remarkable