Brink, hell, they’re in the middle of it.
America grows its own food, and lots more than we need. China doesn’t, has to import.
When you can't provide enough food for your population, it does come down to "butter and guns",
or some type of colonial conquest (physical, economic) of other nations to increase the availability of resources.
This was demonstrated by Japan's involvement in WWII - an expansion for resources.
China is doing this colonial expansion by expanding its naval satellites in the China sea, expanding its "sphere of influence ",
and economic coercion of smaller nations thru economic and infrastructure construction loans to third-world countries
when the country doesn't have enough financial resources to afford their own infrastructure construction (ie.: Somalia).
In return, China has small nations indebted to them, gains a trading partner, and/or access to a new naval port,
all part of China's "Thirty Year Plan " (long range goals).