China and India are starting to give the U.S. a run for its money as the world's strongest economy — by some measures, China is already topping the U.S. But as The Economist points out in this video, a strong India and China are nothing new in the past 2,000 years. In fact, while we think of the Roman and British empires as global powerhouses, both were relatively puny in terms of economic might compared with China and India (as measured by GDP or historical equivalent). Watch the video below, and remember how short the Pax Americana has really been. --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cowsSpeed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
-
Palazzo Durazzo Suites in Genoa: a palatial gem in northern ItalyThe Week Recommends Live your Italian dream in this astonishing and recently restored palace in the heart of the city
-
Today's political cartoons - April 25, 2024Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - TikTok in the firing line, protests on campus, and more
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescueSpeed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in MoroccoSpeed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female presidentSpeed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. saysSpeed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprisingSpeed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
