After a few decades of transformation China is becoming a major contender for the number two position in the world. Is it really possible? Will China balance the power of the United States? Today the United States supremacy is so great that it seems to be undeniable. The situation was similar at the end of the twentieth century when U.S. domination was obvious and any other reality was hard to imagine. Recently though, more and more often America’s political decisions are criticised. A few decades ago, in Beijing a new idea was developed. The essence of that idea was to transform the People’s Republic of China into a superpower. Since China was very vast and densely populated, but mostly a poor and backward country, it was a very daring vision. Years of consistent and painful reforms changed the way the world is looking at China, even though some of them were not accepted by international opinion.