Releasing the results of a national poll earlier this month, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said 47 per cent of the 1,500 adults surveyed agreed that China had already surpassed the United States or would do so within the next five years.

A further 27 per cent said the shift would take longer, while only 26 per cent said China would never catch up.

The survey was carried out between November 24 and December 1.

China’s biggest advantage, according to the respondents, was technological.

Asked where China outperformed the US, 63 per cent pointed to technology – a view shared by 74 per cent of Democrats, 62 per cent of independents and 52 per cent of Republicans.