There is by now no secret that China is seeking to surpass the US and become number 1, top of the pop charts. That is the thesis of Michael Pillsbury’s book, The Hundred Year Marathon (2016), although the subtitle: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower, is inaccurate, since there is no secret.
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2019/02/05/we-have-30-years-left-in-chinas-100-year-marathon-to-replace-america-as-worlds-superpower/
“China has been pursuing a strategy known to China hawks as The Hundred-Year Marathon, according to Michael Pillsbury‘s book which takes that strategy as its title. President Donald Trump has described Pillsbury as “the leading authority on China.” In his book, Pillsbury describes China’s marathon strategy as one built around deception, playing on America’s view of China as a poor country and our elite’s belief that China can be democratized and reformed toward a market-based economy. But this play-acting is all an elaborate ruse intended to “mislead and manipulate American policymakers to obtain intelligence and military, technological and economic assistance” Pillsbury notes.”