China is sitting on a gigantic financial time bomb of having to deal with the effects of some of the world’s worst air and water pollution problems. The cost of having to care for a large fraction of 20% of humanity suffering from pollution health effects will end up bankrupting the country.
There were some coherent folks working for Reagan that noted how overextended the Soviets were and speculated that they could be made to spend themselves out of existence.
It worked.
I think all warfare is ultimately economic. Our US Civil War was, despite the caca were fed in school. The Mercantilist North was taxing the stuff they were buying from the South and taxing it again when the sold it back to them as finished products.
The South did like the deal and tried to leave, and the North forced them back on the plan at the point of a gun.
That’s not how it is taught, but that’s what happened.
And China’s bomb has already gone off. There is more truth in the Onion than there is in a Chinese corporations financial statements.
Our President has them on the run. My only fear is that if he pushes to hard the Chinese may resort to land war. So far it seems like he knows what he’s doing.