For Americans, 2008 is an important election year. But for much of the world, it is likely to be seen as the year that China moved to center stage, with the Olympics serving as the country's long- awaited coming-out party.

The much-heralded advent of China as a global power is no longer a forecast. In 2007, China contributed more to global growth than the United States, the first time another country had done so since at least the 1930s. As a consumer it has eclipsed the United States in four of the five basic food, energy and industrial commodities. And a few months ago China surpassed the United States to become the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide. Whether it's trade, global ...