I'm going to tell some of the feel good people here that "communism" IS still a real threat, especially so for a militarized nation as the republic of China.
Those may say to themselves, "Oh China has no wish for war, & that they are a growing economy etc"!
That is all very correct, ..but China also has much patience as most Asians do in their culture.
China & America might at the moment be getting along just fine; ...but communism is an enemy to capitalism. THEY KNOW THIS, ..& THEY ALSO KNOW THAT IF AMERICA WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE PICTURE, THEY COULD LITERALLY RULE THE WORLD.
Right now they are NOT ready for any risk of war as they possess only about 800 nuclear weapons to America's rough estimate of over 10,000.
Forget any land battles with China as they can EASILY field an army of well OVER 200 million IF they had to, ..perhaps more. Scarey...when one figures they could have an army the size of the WHOLE population of America.
For decades China has stolen the technologies of other nations, ..& much of it has come by way of technological espionage, ..as well as simply cloak & dagger spying often masquerading as "diplomats" etc.
China does NOT respect patents, ..& copies them thus saving themselves "billions" in research, & development.
The liberal dreamers can pretend that China is so much more honorable than their own country in believing that China would make no such effort to hold the world hostage through threat of war, ....but when China is finally technologically equal, or surpasses America & America's allies, & its economy becomes virtually stronger than America's; they WILL CLASH with America.
If China was at "where" they would like to be, be assurred the Taiwan issue would have already been settled, ..& they would gladly be "taking" any g-damn thing they like which includes the worlds resources.
They may smile, & be correct among the political dignitaries, BUT make no mistake, ...there WILL be war eventually. Maybe 10-20-...or perhaps 30 years from now, BUT it WILL come!
At the moment America could literally turn China into glass, & they KNOW it! America would NOT need to even put one soldier on their mainland either to accomplish a complete sterilization of them, & THEY KNOW THAT TOO!
China, ..& communist atheistic doctrine is so much different than other nations. THEY would GLADLY sacrifice hundreds of millions of their own IF they thought that they could actually defeat the United States.
Internationally, & in public of course...this may sound like "insanity" to the rest of the world, ..& the world at large probably would not believe this; & China can & does sound so "civilized" & very charming these days but China is simply NOT ready economically, & the fact that in spite of all the nay sayers, the American economy on its worst days is STILL much stronger than China's.
China is STILL very much backwards in many ways, ..it is that their rural areas escape public worldwide scrutiny, & it is the "modern" China that everybody usually sees.
I suspect that China will be ever so "civilized' sounding as she has, & will continue to court the nations that rank high in technology etc, & as always appear to be "sleeping", but in reality China is simply biding her time.
Think not that China will not upgrade, & continue to build more nuclear weapons to add to her arsenal, & advance her military capabilities to the point when China has virtually as many nuclear weapons in her arsenal as America does, ...& WHEN that happens China will not be concerned about risking millions of her population to destroy America, & the whole capitalistic system.
America can NOT afford to lose a hundred million of its population in a nuclear war, ..but China CAN as they have over 1-billion people; & in the decades past China has even made such statements.
In our modern civilized times of today, the Chinese communists put a smile on their faces, & extract "whatever" they want with regards to industrial technology, & trade with the free nations because everybody wants to be China's friend.
China is still loaded with hardline communists who still adopt the communist doctrine of war with capitalism is "inevitable", ..think NOT that because a certain degree of prosperity will ever change that ideology, ..because it will not as long as there continues to be political oppression in China.
China does not, & will not EVER allow the concept of individual freedom, & personal liberty to hijack its population, ..& America & the rest of the free world had damn well better understand that fact especially while in their own lust they continue to give China access to whatever in the hell she wants, or needs.
It is NOT a question of IF there is ever war between the free world, & China....it is just "when" will it happen?