The military industrial complex NEEDS a credible military threat, in order to justify huge expenditures. If no good threat exists, then it must be created. Thus, we hand over lots of our technology to China, and allow them to build a huge trade surplus they can use to build up their military.
After the collapse of the USSR, something needed to be created to replace it as a threat.
I still recall the echos of "peace dividend" (money saved on military expenditures) from certain people immediately after the fall of the Berlin wall. They were hushed up very quickly by the neocons and corporate conservatives.