limits of world-system theory?

List-

Let me rephrase the question, in light of the lack of response.

If there was a system with a structure and dynamics that could be
discovered through scientific inquiry (ie, the modern world-system of
1500 to present), then several possibilities are revealed in light of the
potential "rise of China/Asia":

1) that system was historically bounded, and can be superceded in novel
ways without challenging the theory because the theory only applied to
that slice of history,

2) that system's structure and dynamics was a subset of longer-term
        structures and dynamics, and either:

a) whatever changes are now taking place vis a vis China/Asia can be
        explained with the theoretical framework,
                or
b) they cannot, implying that the theoretical framework needs to be
        scrapped or revised.

If find this notion of the "core shifting" to be quite unsatisfactory.  
"Once upon a time the core shifted to Europe.  Then once upon another time
the core shifted back to Asia."  If there is something more substantial
going on, I think it is well worth discussing.  Otherwise, based on the
(more or less) established, accepted principles of our collective
theoretical project, there is no reason to think that China/Asia could
rise to hegemonic position without the punctuation point of a major
war.  And given current U.S. military dominance, that seems well off in
the future.  On the economistic level, it does not seem that Asia holds a
technological lead over the U.S.  Cheap labor?  If that was the source of
rise from periphery to core, why China/Asia?  Is there some sort of
organizational innovation going on that I haven't heard about?  

Sorry, the beginning was more clear than the ending of this post.

RH