IOW, RF magnetic field blast (a nuclear device detonated high enough above earth to create a massive magnetic field distortion) which would disable China’s satellites and their electronics on the ground. And financial and economic sabotage. Provided, as you have indirectly implied, we had a leadership chain in place capable of issuing the order.
No nukes required.
There are many other technologies out there that Popular Mechanics and the media have not a clue about.
Do we have the capabilities I mentioned? Dunno, I was not on the list for those black programs. However, I have seen enough to know that we COULD have those capabilities and FAR MORE.
The average citizen does not understand the Black World. Neither do many senior civil servants, politicians, and even military officers. But I can tell you that some of the technologies are game changers.