The Tortoise and the Hare
The United States got to the moon in less than ten years. That was over 30 years ago.
China will launch its first moon probe in three to five years.
There's an a line from the Sputnik days, attributed to Lyndon Johnson: "I don't want to be lookin' up and seein' a damned Red moon!"
He may have been looking into a Chinese future.....