One country's decline is a benefit to another one. It might sound cold and selfish but the truth is that if one economy is declining, you can use this to your advantage.
Not like that a country experiences an economy plummeted, if they have abundant natural resources, how to compete like you mentioned that individual competition, the country is not the case.
If another country experiences a bad economy, they can strengthen relations through trade agreements with other countries or cooperation in economic management and natural resources in that way a country that has economic problems can be Expanding international market access, of course this can improve their economy again, the method is often done by developing countries such as Russia and Italy, Germany imports goods and is included in the United States in the field of liquid or raw natural gas with Russia, as well as other countries such as China and so on.
The point: the state does not compete in negative matters of fighting over each other, the state is not individual, they have defense and international law, not as economically as people sell food with people selling beverages next to each other.
fighting over each other.