How did China come to establish a bipolar system with the United States?

Even looking back at the Mao Zedong era, it seemed impossible to recover after the double blow of blunders like the 'Great Leap Forward' and the 'Cultural Revolution.'
However, after Deng Xiaoping improved the economic structure, the steady rebound that led to their current position seems even more remarkable than the 'Miracle on the Han River.'
With China projected to overtake US GDP in the future, how did they manage to establish this bipolar system with the US?
And taking it a step further, is it actually possible for them to surpass the US in total GDP in the future?