There are a lot of cultural things I dislike about China, but stupidity and being able to play the long game are not among them.
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They are not stupid, what they are is arrogant and ignorant.
As for the long game that only works is your goals are kept hidden. The goal of becoming a world power is falling apart. I suspect that China will have a new General Secretary of the CCP within a year.
Those are valid points. We should be concerned with a new General Secretary of the CCP.
They have internal problems to be sure, and a new strongman may be in order for the CCP to ride herd on those problems with force and manipulation.