IS THE U.S. ECONOMY DECLINING OR REVIVING Zheng Weimin（7） Though the economic superiority of the United States over its major partners (Japan and Germany) is now greatly weakened after decades of growth, American economic strength has not been shaken to its very foundation. However, if the United States can not adopt effective policies to reverse the down-sliding tendency, it may in the long run take the dangerous road which led to the decline of the British Empire.