“worst case scenario…another Soviet Union”
That assumes China will act like the USSR. Never assume. That’s not the worst case either.
First we need to weed out all of their friends in the State Department and Pentagon.
3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.
4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.
5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare."
-- From "The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Everything China will do is predictable - and so is everything we will do. They would jump for joy if we get into a hot war with Iran, regardless of how much oil they buy from the Iranians. Their ideal is take Taiwan back without firing a shot, and when they are ready, it is likely we will remain too overextended to have a say in the matter.
China will not become another Soviet Union, but another Qin dynasty - its cruel repression funded by hyper-capitalism and big-screen TV sales to America - is not impossible.