China's industrial ascent and descent will span a much shorter interval than ours, and ours won't have been that long from a historical point of view!

The key will be which one will outlast the other. The funny thing is China can make much more rapid changes to its 'lifestyle' (simply by decree) than can the West ("gotta have that SUV and powerboat no matter what those environmentalists say. America's lifestyle Way of Life is non-negotiable!").