I think this viewpoint unrealistically diminishes the Chinese position. 1. Beating the U.S. militarily in a conventional war is completely unnecessary. The o

I think this viewpoint unrealistically diminishes the Chinese position. 1. Beating the U.S. militarily in a conventional war is completely unnecessary. The overt Chinese military goal is to defend the nine-dash line and little more. Their anti-ship and anti-air missiles more than accomplish this. Several U.S. Navy admirals have stated on record that the U.S. doesn't have a mitigation for that defense. 2. The Chinese Communist Party's survival depends far more on economic factors than foreign affairs/international issues. According to various Western reports in China (The Economist, NPR, BBC), most of the populous is uninterested in the fact there is no credible opposition. Most of the population is interested in exploiting new opportunities/safeguarding their wealth. I acknowledge that Western sources could be missing a lot. 3. The Chinese diplomatic efforts are likely to effectively exploit the imminent U.S. pivot to a more isolationist posture. The TPP (despite its many warts, including unconscionable IP/legal rules) was the primary vehicle for countering Chinese trade efforts. I think we can expect to see more effective diplomacy in the realm of trade from China in the coming years. Already inroads are being made in the Philippines.