[TexasFreeper2009]

I have seen this coming for decades.

[woodbutcher1963]

So did Tom Clancy.
The book “The Bear and The Dragon” was published in 2000.
Which means Tom started writing it 25 years ago or more.

[Uncle Miltie]

Exactly.

Chinese culture believes that holding stuff is what matters. Not productivity. Not freedom. Not income. Stuff.

They look North and feel they have been dealt a crap hand. They see what Russia has and covet it. They can’t stand that someone else has what they want.

So they’ll find a way to take it.

That’s my impression of the deepest nature of the Chinese psyche.