I did read your reply. My first reply was not one of my clearest, I'll admit.

The idea that the US leads "democracies" against China is out of date. The US tipped their hand on Ukraine, and the rest of the world, including the EU, has seen the future. Either you are a vassal to the US, or you break free. BRICS+ is one result.

When the war in Ukraine ends, the shit in Europe is really going to hit the fan. EU leaders are already trekking to China to try to get a peace deal, because the US has shown no interest in peace in Ukraine.

We here in the EU are paying the economic price for the US proxy war. The politicians can't afford to buck the US now while the guns are blazing. After the war ends it will be a different situation. Anti-war demos are big and growing since last year already. The EU public doesn't want this war, only some EU leaders.

The world is (sadly) not decarbonizing quickly, and Russia's economic power will continue to be very resilient. Did you know that Russia has huge lithium deposits needed for making EV batteries?

The US designed "GDP" is based on war economies (that is why it was invented). GDP doesn't factor for industries that don't produce tangible goods differently than those that do. So countries like the US with a massive financial, insurance and entertainment industries look much bigger than countries like Russia, that produce raw and finished materials like oil, gas, fertilizer and grain. But all of those are essentials for every country.

That is why the unprecedented sanctions against Russia didn't work. Africa still needs Russian wheat whether the US likes it or not. China, India, Pakistan, and even Japan still need Russian oil to keep their economies going. None of that will change massively in the next 10 years (again sadly), and in 10 years the comments I made above will also be out of date.

Talking about what is going to happen in the next 2-5 years in the context of what China's population will be in 70 years is pointless.