My inbox is frequently visited by articles that breathlessly point out how China's economy will outstrip that of the U.S. in a certain number of years. These are the "juggernaut" stories that seem to scare a lot of folks back in the U.S.

I also see quite often the counter argument, explanations as to why the Chinese economy has a long ways to go before we can start really comparing it to the US, EU and Japan. I agree of course with this argument (since it is accurate). The problem is that it is difficult to convey this sort of thing in a short blog post, particularly when all people seem to see these days are pictures of huge skyscrapers going up in Beijing and Shanghai – hard to go against that.

James Fallows got it just right using a couple of photos and an anecdote – go read it. I'm not one to praise folks very often, but in this case, experience counts. Maybe having a lot of years of journalism experience gives one the perspective to understand when an illustration can convey that extra bit of meaning to a complex issue that has been discussed many times over.

Credit where credit is due.