China's Bottlenecks

Much is made of the rise of China. I believe China will not dominate in the 21st Century. There are too many bottlenecks for China to overcome. Bottlenecks are situations that prevent growth from being linear.

Corruption
Corruption is pervasive. The bureaucracy is so large that it is almost impossible for Party leadership to control corruption. Instead the Party only reacts when corrruption becomes public.

Energy Shortages
China is the world's largest energy consumer. Energy production in China is inefficient. China relies heavily on coal. It's oil reserves have peaked. 

Water Shortages
Two-thirds of Chinese cities have experienced waatr shortages. Water tables have dropped all over the country. Lakes are shrinking. growing cities will need more water. Industries demand more water. Agriculture needs more water to grow crops to feed people.

Pollution
China's government has pushed growth at any expense. That policy has resulted in massive air, water and soil pollution. Little attention was paid to chemical by-products and waste disposal. As a result, Chinese people are suffering illnesses and productivity is falling.

Job Shortages
The economy isn't growing enough jobs to employ the flow of people from rural to urban areas.

Aging Population
The economy isn't producing enough wealth to provide for the aging population. With the sudden slowdown in population growth, China will need to increase productivity. China will need to find a way to care for an immense senior sector. By 2020, China will surpass the shoot past the US in aging population. By 2050, China will have the oldest population in the world. How will it support it's aging population? Who will provide those services? China will be like a quarterhouse, fast out of the gate but unable to remain in competition for an endurance race.

Gender problem
Due to the One Child Policy, many couples only had one child. Often the choice was to have a son. Many girls were aborted. Or abandoned to orphanages. As a result in the young adult populations there is now a severe shortage of women. What will those men do when it is time to marry? Will they remain single? Will they chose a foreign bride? Will they leave the country completely? Will the women fell empowered by the increased choices? Will the women demand more rights and better treatment?