u/AccountantOk8438

Qualifier: this argument is not that China is an unopposed superpower, nor that it is 1:1 with the US.

The most basic argument that China is a superpower now, is that the number 3 power in the world is leagues and leagues behind China in global power (economic/military/geopolitical influence)

In more concrete terms, China has leapfrogged ahead in many domains that barely existed 20 years ago.

1. It has a powerful economy, being the main trade partner of almost every country thanks to the juggernaut manufacturing sector.
2. It has a modern world class military that only the US could threaten. A vibrant RnD-Military pipeline is churning out new platforms at a staggering rate, that unlike in Russia is being tested vigorously and produced at scale (300+ stealth fighters now)
3. More nascent yet absolutely rising: it is beginning to cement cultural influence. TikTok’s, Xinfluencers, the image of the “predictable superpower” is gaining ground. Vietnamese youth now admire the Chinese military etc.
4. BYD, solar panel dominance and world class universities show us that China is no longer a copycat engine. They are harnessing the innovative potential of their people, even if it isn’t to scale with the US

If the USSR was a superpower, then China as superpower is leagues more powerful, even if the US still carries favor from their unipolar moment.