ABSTRACT
The summer of 2010 marked two important milestones for China: on July 10, the International Energy Agency reported that China, whose energy demand was merely half that of the United States a decade ago, had surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest energy consumer (IEA 2010a, 2010b). This historic overtaking was met with little surprise from many, despite the immediate objection voiced by the Chinese government (Li 2010). On August 17, China again made global headlines as it overtook Japan as the world’s second largest economy. Pundits and analysts alike asked: “When will China overtake the United States as the largest economy in the world?” (Tseng 2010; China Daily 2010a).
