by ppp, have.

Ppp measures are incredibly inaccurate, especially if you want to compare similar lifestyles. Having a western-leave middle class lifestyle is just as expensive (for many things more so) than many places in the west.

Really? I was able to eat lunch in Shanghai for $1.44 and a dinner for 3 with enough to fill us to the brim for $24. Can you do that in San Francisco?

You can easily do that in Shanghai if you want. Yes, the low end is lower, especially if you don’t mind gutter oil, but menu items start ranging from 50-80 kuai in middle class restaurants (probably more in SH), and it only goes up from there.

Eating is cheaper overall I. China (50 kuai isn’t that much for an entree), but other things like cars and computers are more expensive, as can rent or housing prices. A pair of Levi’s jeans costs 800RMB, which is why many Chinese come to the states to shop.

my Nike Shirt was 80 RMB, though I'm not sure its real :; feels real.

Your example shows that you fail to understand how it's inaccurate to compare.

PPP for comparing standards of living

Nominal GDP for comparing global economic influence

Use the right tool for the right job

$16,800 for China and $59,000 for the US. Not by a country mile. Even Hong Kong is in the high 50s. It’s only Macau in with a clear win at $112,000 thanks to the high number of casinos per capita.

It may well overtake in the future but it has yet to.

You are talking about per capita. Yes, it will take a long time. But if the Chinese are half as productive as you and I their economy will be double our size.

Remember there are at least 4 Chinese people per 1 person in the USA. That changes the math a lot.