Trump is making Xi Jinping's superpower 2050 vision tougher by the day

Only five developing countries have made the transition to advanced-nation status while maintaining high levels of growth since 1960

Even before the trade war, Xi Jinping’s plan to turn China into one of the world’s most advanced economies by 2050 was ambitious.

His grand vision is now looking more aspirational by the day. As mounting pressure from Donald Trump adds to a slew of structural challenges facing China’s $14 trillion economy -- including record debt levels, rampant pollution, and an aging population -- the risk is that the country gets stuck in a “middle-income trap,’’ stagnating before it reaches rich-world levels of development.

Economists say Xi’s government can avoid that fate by boosting domestic consumption, liberalizing markets and increasing the country’s