China's military buildup, global ambitions on collision course with U.S., Pentagon official warns

China’s decadeslong military buildup now poses a threat to U.S. security not just in Asia but also around the globe, and a confrontation with China could emerge at one of several flashpoints, a senior Pentagon official warned Thursday.

Chad Sbragia, deputy assistant defense secretary for China, told a congressional commission that Beijing’s buildup of missiles, warships, aircraft, space weaponry and cybercapabilities has accelerated under President Xi Jinping. He described it as “one of the most ambitious military modernization efforts in recent history.”

“In most of the potential flashpoints in the Indo-Pacific region — the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands or the Korean Peninsula — the United States may find itself in a military crisis with China,” Mr. Sbragia told a hearing of the congressionally created United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He said the challenge posed by Chinese military and economic expansion requires a Cold War-type response.

While not a replica of the standoff with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, the China threat is “equally as consequential and therefore merits the same concentration of effort as put forth in the past,” he said.

China’s military now boasts 2 million personnel in uniform. The Chinese navy, after decades of building large numbers of warships, is now the world’s largest in terms of total assets, he said.

“China’s military is fielding an increasingly formidable array of ballistic and cruise missiles, modern fighter aircraft, autonomous systems, and a suite of cyber and space capabilities, postured to deny the U.S. military access to the Indo-Pacific theater if called upon,” Mr. Sbragia said.

Military power projection efforts are also linked to China’s expanding economic might through such programs as Mr. Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative and military-civilian fusion...

If Kissinger was such a genius, why did he play the China card against Russia instead of the Russia card against China?

The way I see it, as with Korea, Vietnam, Syria, Iran etc. goes back to Roosevelt strengthening Uncle Joe Stalin so much that the USSR become such an advancing army that it go to Berlin first, and some important assets. While infiltrating its "ally" the US so much that it became the 2nd nuke power just 4 years after we did, and become the leading space program as well.

Thus, National Security Council staffer (and later U.S. Ambassador to China) Winston Lord noted:

"First, an opening to China would give us more flexibility on the world scene generally. We wouldn't just be dealing with Moscow."

"Secondly, by opening relations with China we would catch Russia's attention and get more leverage on them through playing this obvious, China card. The idea would be to improve relations with Moscow, hoping to stir a little bit of its paranoia by dealing with China, never getting so engaged with China that we would turn Russia into a hostile enemy but enough to get the attention of the Russians. This effort worked dramatically after Kissinger's secret trip to China."

"Thirdly, Kissinger and Nixon wanted to get help in resolving the Vietnam War. By dealing with Russia and with China we hoped to put pressure on Hanoi to negotiate seriously. At a maximum, we tried to get Russia and China to slow down the provision of aid to North Vietnam somewhat. More realistically and at a minimum, we sought to persuade Russia and China to encourage Hanoi to make a deal with the United States and give Hanoi a sense of isolation because their two, big patrons were dealing with us. Indeed, by their willingness to engage in summit meetings with us, with Nixon going to China in February 1972, and to Moscow in May 1972, the Russians and Chinese were beginning to place a higher priority on their bilateral relations with us than on their dealings with their friends in Hanoi."

Because of this visually televised confirmation that citizens were receiving on the daily national news, presidential approval ratings rose to almost 56 percent. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon%27s_1972_visit_to_China

Also,

Disagreements culminate in border skirmishes in March 1969. Moscow replaces Washington as China’s biggest threat, and the Sino-Soviet split contributes to Beijing’s eventual rapprochement with the United States.

U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000 in October, granting Beijing permanent normal trade relations with the United States and paving the way for China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001. Between 1980 and 2004, U.S.-China trade rises from $5 billion to $231 billion. In 2006, China surpasses Mexico as the United States’ second-biggest trade partner, after Canada.

In March 2007, China announces an 18 percent budget increase in defense spending for 2007, totaling more than $45 billion. Increases in military expenditures average 15 percent a year from 1990 to 2005. During a 2007 tour of Asia, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says China’s military buildup is “not consistent” with the country’s stated goal of a “peaceful rise.”

In September 2008, China surpasses Japan to become the largest holder of U.S. debt—or treasuries—at around $600 billion.

China surpasses Japan as the world’s second-largest economy after it is valued at $1.33 trillion for the second quarter of 2010, slightly above Japan’s $1.28 trillion for that year. China is on track to overtake the United States as the world’s number one economy by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O’Neill

The U.S. trade deficit with China rises from $273.1 billion in 2010 to an all-time high of $295.5 billion in 2011. The increase accounts for three-quarters of the growth in the U.S. trade deficit for 2011.

February 9, 2017 Trump Affirms One China Policy After Raising Doubts

U.S. President Donald J. Trump says he will honor the One China policy in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-relations-china

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