Judy Woodruff:

The president's decision to hit China with new tariffs today underscores the kind of powerhouse it has become on the global stage economically. In fact, China is ranked as the world's second largest economy, well behind the U.S., but on its way to becoming the largest.

Tonight, our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, hears a personal take about how the country has evolved in the modern era, through generations of change.

It's part of his weekly series, Making Sense.