Okay, let's consider some data:

• The U.S. racked up a $295 billion trade deficit with China in 2011.
• The ongoing U.S. trade deficit with China has cost 2.8 million jobs since 2001.

Essentially, the U.S. imports far more from China than it exports, which results in a bilateral trade deficit that dwarfs any trade gap the U.S. has with other industrialized nations.

Any surprise, then, that a new global survey by the Pew Institute finds that more people are likely to view China as the world’s leading economic power, not the United States?

The 21-nation poll found that 41 percent of people said China was the world's economic power, while 40 percent favored the U.S. Among the 14 nations that were asked the same question in 2008, the margin was wider: 45 percent placed the U.S. on top four years ago, with just 22 percent for China, but in the latest poll China was favored 42 percent to 36 percent.

This shouldn't come as a total surprise since China has built such a massive export machine, in part by deliberately undervaluing its currency, in violation of world trade law.

Cheating seems to pay off for China. 

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