Even if we set aside indicators such as gross national income per

17 Even if we set aside indicators such as gross national income per capita (US$46,300 in the US; US$3,650 in China) or military spending (US$687.105 billion in the US; US$114.300 billion in China) that make it clear that the combined economic (G-8 and other industrial nations) and military power of the West overwhelms that of the Rest, the reality is that the Rest - occasionally being referred to as the South - remains an amorphous amalgam of nation-states and economies that have very little in common aside from some hostility - which is receding - towards past European colonialism and American hegemonism. That Russia is both a member of the exclusive western club of the G- 8 and of the BRIC grouping is just one example of the complex global reality in which governments like Russia, or for that matter China, Turkey or Brazil, find US power to be appealing while at the same time also trying to keep it at bay. Hence, the states and economies which belong to the elusive Rest are seeking to penetrate the markets of the US and the West and attract their investors, while also hoping to reform global rules and institutions in a way that would reflect their growing power. But as Mexico failed in its attempt to win support from the South for its candidate for leading the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the long-term interests of China or India may lead them to support the current status quo in the institution. In fact, the G-20 that has been touted as the new global grouping for projecting the rising power of the Rest, has yet to demonstrate its effectiveness in charting a new direction for the global economy. Moreover, notwithstanding their occasional resort to anti-American rhetoric, China and Russia which are leading members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are each probably more worried over the threat that the other poses to its security interests than the US challenge. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029948