<I would take the other side of that bet... :O)>
I hope you are right; I hope I am wrong.
I hope China competes with other nations, not on the basis of whose army can control the most ground, but on whose economy can conquer the most market share in the most industries.
Today, China does not have the capability of military conquest, of Kazakhstan, Taiwan, or even Vietnam. It's easy to be virtuous, if you lack the capability of doing evil. When China replaces the U.S. as the dominant economy in the world (and, therefore, replaces the U.S. as the dominant military power in the world, since economic power always translates into military power), then we'll see. Around 2040, I'm guessing.
On current evidence, China is just as habitually violent a nation as the U.S. is. Chinese are just as enthusiastic about executing criminals, as Texans. |
