I suspect that the war will largely be a war fought through trade domination and dogfights for control of global economies. China’s military spending is still a small fraction of ours and their military goals, at least as of now, seem to be predominantly centered around influence in the South Pacific and nearby areas.
That said, they could be looking to attack us and wage war on us with weapons way more dangerous than guns or bombs of any kind.
It will be interesting to see whether Japan steps into a leadership role and rallies the other Asian nations impacted by an emerging Chinese hegemony. I think the US should encourage this.