Will China be the world's next superpower? The topic presented in this article is China's status as a global superpower. There are many different points of view in answer to this question. The search included articles from newspapers, magazines, writers, research groups, medical institutions and political figures. Many articles imply that China's characteristics lend credibility to its consideration as a powerful nation. An editorial in Investors Business Daily says that due to China's high military spending, an "unnamed" leading think tank believes it will reach military parity in less than 25 years. (China, the next superpower? 2011) Unfortunately, military spending is the only basis for achieving parity. Military parity does not qualify China as a world superpower. After his visit to China, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, commented on the state of the economy. Correspondents hailed China as the new superpower by advertising the world's largest toilet covering four floors. (Aditya Chakraborrty 2010) What makes this a point of interest is that free public sanitation is scarce. The big picture evident to Cameron and his associates is that “China is much poorer than generally recognized and also much less powerful. Cameron says that although China is the second largest economy, it has the largest population in the world, but a per capita income far lower than that of other countries." (Aditya Chakraborrty 2010) The Diplomat addressed the observation that China may be considered a great power, but a great power is not a superpower. More than half the population lives without basic healthcare, decent education or safe drinking water. (Minxin Pei 2006) The Chinese government's one child per family policy causes...... middle of paper ......icle/Moxibustion_TherapyPeter Brooks. 2005. China's influence in the Western Hemisphere. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/chinas-influence-in-the-western-hemispherePranab Bardhan. (2005). China and India superpower? Not so fast. Yale Global Online. Retrieved from http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/china-india-superpower-not-so-fastStrength in numbers. 2011. GlobalFirePower.com. Retrieved from http://www.globalfirepower.comStress Management. 2009. The Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tai-chi/SA00087World Nuclear Stockpile Report. 2011. Plowshare Fund. Retrieved from http://www.ploughshares.org/news-analysis/world-nuclear-stockpile-reportWorld Population by Continents. 2010. Nationsonline.org. Retrieved from http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/world_population.htm