For me China is Imperial Germany.
Incredibly rapid growth over past few decades - check.
Expansionist mode - wants their place in the sun/empire - check.
Notion of the “superior race” - OK sure Hitler takes this “next level” but even in 1914 the Prussian elites really saw themselves as a “cut above” as do the Chinese.
Army as a disproportionate force in the society - double check.
Russia checks some of these boxes - somewhat or not at all - but China really checks them.
Who is the British Empire? Powerful but on the cusp of decline could go either way. Pre-Biden I assigned that role to the US. The thing about China makes me not want to assign them the role of Imperial Germany is they’re still not the creative scientific power Imperial Germany was. They steal IP rather then create it. However that is changing.