If the 20th century was America’s, the 21st may well be China’s. A trade giant, formidable economic power, and rising military power with increasing influence in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, China owns the largest foreign portion of U.S. debt at nearly $800 billion dollars. Despite the effects of the global economic crisis, which prompted the Chinese government to roll out a $586 billion dollar stimulus package in November 2008, devoted to infrastructure, social welfare, environmental and technology projects, China has projected over 8% GDP growth for 2009. President Obama, who visited China for the first time this November, has affirmed the importance of the U.S.-China relationship, stating that it “will shape the 21st century.”Niall Booker, deputy chief executive officer of HSBC - North America and chief executive officer of HSBC Finance Corporation; Cheng Li, director of research and senior fellow of the Brookings Institution’s John L. Thornton China Center; and Evan Osnos, staff writer for The New Yorker, discussed how the U.S.-China relationship may evolve in the coming decade and the future of bilateral economic relations between the superpowers. Lyric Hughes Hale, founding publisher of China Online, Inc., moderated the conversation.