China is hurting financially. Capital has fled, demand is down, and their economy is getting close to collapse. They have been challenging the USA and allies in S. China Seas. Thanks to Clinton and all those after, USA was weakened.
That's why you hear their Military threatening to sink ships. That's why we heard about one of our Military telling his people that a big-@$$ fight is coming. Hope it doesn't come sooner rather than later, and in fact doesn't happen at all.
Likewise we are at war with Iran and Russia. Now Russia has been getting into a position to get around the USA’s financial control. Dumped dollars, bought Yen, Yuan, Euros, and Gold. Setting up BRICKS to avoid oil sales using the dollar, and no where near our debt.
In addition, we have locked Iran out of the SWIFT payment system. Russia has already let us know that if we try that with them, they will respond militarily. Meanwhile Russia, China, and others are exploring setting up their own payment systems.
So Far, Putin has survived our best shot with respect to the financial war. That's because he can ignore/assassinate his oligarchs if they get to be too big a pain in the neck.
China will accept the existing systems, but not if we make it too difficult, and they want their vote at the IMF to be weighted more. Just a few years back, IMF did agree to place the YUAN in the basket of currencies for the SDR, even though they technically don't qualify.
It's a dangerous world right now. POTUS is doing well, but the more he succeeds, the stronger we get, and someone might make a mistake and decide there's no time like the present, before we recover too much, and of course, Derpers are egging it all on.
Just a few musings that run through my head now and then.
They can also sacrifice in behalf of delayed gratification as well or better than anyone.
Well put - cogent. Right now we are at the top of the global heap - but we have vulnerabilities. We don't need to squash China, but we don't have to continue the surrender of the past few decades either. The Democraps are offering nothing right now; the Chinese are not that stupid. They will try to retain as much of an advantage as they can. I am sure DSers and elites have encouraged China to play politics and wait DJT out to 2020... China cannot afford to cling to that hope very much; as you say, they risk collapse.
Chinese militaristic talk of sinking two American aircraft carriers is just bluster. China does not want war with the US... They might flex their muscles tho. To my thinking the answer to a Chinese attempt at a hegemony in the South China Sea is to sail allied naval convoys (US, Brit, Aus, Japan, etc.) through there - repeatedly.
Clancy sets up a similar scenario with China in The Bear and the Dragon. In that case we squeeze China too hard and they go after the Russians’ oil fields. I only bring this up to share his analysis of the politburo. They don’t see reality like we do. They see what they want to see. And they just might go to war with foreigners if its between that and facing social unrest at home.