Well, maybe.
But how do you measure 'smarter'?
Overpopulating their country?
Committing unfathomable human right's injustices?
As an american, you shouldn't make any remarks about human rights, because your own country is a great example when it comes to oppress racial or economical minority's. Don't forget that you live in the most racist country in the world, where black people doesn't have equal rights even this day. Chinese have their faults, but even so they kick your ass in many ways, not only in olympics. They have higher average IQ, meaning that in similar tests than americans, they score higher points, they have better average mathematics skills, meaning that in similar tests than americans, they score higher points. You can find all of that from the internet, so don't take my word for it, but look at yourself. There is many statistic made by objective international organisations which prove all this and many other things.
When you use a computer, do you know where it has been made? Just about 80% of computer electronics in the world is made in china/asian countries, no matter which brand or type your computer is, so you could say that they have a quite good lead compared to USA. What you have equally important to the modern world? Smith & Wesson, Colt, Remington etc.? Zippo? General Motors? Coca Cola, Big Mac...They own their shares even all those. They are on the leading edge of technology, and they have a manpower to stay there, so it is better to not underestimate them.
I have been in China few times, it is nice place to be on vacation. People are very friendly and hospitality is up on the different level than it is in america. They are your friends, not ass kissers like americans, they share everything with you, not just talking bullshit chit chat like you guys. Wonderful country, even with its faults. I don't use package tours, I just fly there and wonder around few months, living in village motels or as a house quest of some local family. When guy like me, who is finnish and quite big, travels there, there is no troubles what so ever. People come talk to me on the streets, they tell about their life, and when I told them I'm from Finland, they know all about Mika Häkkinen, Kimi Räikkönen, our olympic champions, and some of them knows even Riku Kiri and Jouko Ahola. Nice country, beautiful girls, nice people. Their government and communistic system is a pain in the ass, but it is somewhat necessary in country like that, where third of the people lives houses which has plain ground floors. When they get their systems up and running for democracy, and that isn't very far, that will be something to see for americans and a rest of the world.
You have Iran, Afganistan, and numerous wars in your history, filled with unfathomable injustices, so which way you are better? You don't kill your own citizens like they do? Well, you ship them to some foreign country to be killed "fighting for their country" like in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Iran and Afganistan, and if that isn't enough, you have 80000 gun related deaths each year in your own country. They have tibet, you have cuba(another nice country, and I love their cigars). They don't like tibet any more than you like cuba, so what is the difference? You both are an assholes what comes to that.
And talking about the overpopulating? Just for example, do you know how much teen age pregnancies has been growing in the USA on this century? China has been there quite while, in fact it as documented in ancient writings, dates back some 3,300 years, while your country is few hundred years old, so they has been some time to populate their country. They have been there 3300 years, they have been a civilisation long before that time when first europeans came down from the trees, and then there was great gap, which end when some europeans came up with a bright idea to send some left over shit overseas to populate the new country which Columbus has found. In few hundred years your population has grown up to 270 millions, and you are talking about overpopulating of china? Just count how much your population will be in next hundred years, if it grows steadily, and shut the fu*ck up...
