Once upon a time, the major powers of the world existed only in the West. Today, this sounds more and more like a fairytale. The emerging markets of the world continue to grow, and with a massive economy comes massive political power.

In a 2007 presentation at United Nations Headquarters, Antoine van Agtmael, author of The Emerging Markets Century, argued that over the next half century, the economically dominant Western countries would become increasingly dependent on emerging markets.

“This is a trend that will define our age,” he said.

Van Agtmael’s prediction seems increasingly relevant, even in the face of the current economic crisis. Take, for example, China.

Showing an average growth of nine percent annually, China’s economy is now the third largest in the world, according to NATO. Not only that, the country has replaced the U.S. as the largest trading partner of Brazil, Japan, and India, is the largest importer of goods from the U.S., and in 2008 became the proud owner of more American government debt than any other country in the world.

If that doesn’t impress you, consider this: Also according to NATO, China is said to have about $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves. By contrast, the United States budget deficit is expected to exceed $2 trillion dollars this year.

China’s upward trend has encouraged the suggestion that the role of the United States in the world economy is declining, and that newer markets will soon overtake it. For instance, the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries held their first summit this year.

While the NATO Review report “Will the financial crisis make China a superpower?” identifies China as the most influential of the BRIC countries, it does not envision the country surpassing the U.S. as a superpower anytime soon.

“Both the cost and risk are too high for Beijing to commit itself to so many international issues as the U.S., from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Iran to North Korea,” the report states.

Others have suggested that the world political climate is shifting to a multipolar model, in which many countries have influence in world politics.

According to Fareed Zakaria’s Post-American World, the new world order, more so than ever before, includes non-state actors (the World Trade Organization, European Union, and Al Qaeda, etc.) that play a major role in shaping global policy.

This, and the continual rise in power of other states, draws influence away from the United States. As a result, the world will move from a unipolar system controlled by the U.S. to one “defined and directed from many places and by many people.”

Zakaria identifies China as “the challenger” to U.S. dominance. And while some may feel this challenge is distant, China remains the one to watch.