I'm not an expert, but for anyone who would like to get more info on geopolitics, I recommend the "Geographical Challenges" videos from Stratfor, which can be f

I'm not an expert, but for anyone who would like to get more info on geopolitics, I recommend the "Geographical Challenges" videos from Stratfor, which can be found on YouTube. Whether you like or dislike Stratfor, I find the geographic and historical analysis of various countries are spot-on and highly valuable. This is especially relevant for understanding China in the context of 21st century geopolitics. China has many of the same geographic advantages of Europe and North America. It's likely that China will want to extend its influence in its region, just as the US did when "The Monroe Doctrine" was formulated. On the other hand, China, when viewed on the longest historical time scales, seems somewhat metastable. My guess on the future: China will try to become a rival to the US for global dominance, and there will be naval conflict over who is in charge in the far east -- unless China follows another long term pattern, destabilizes and changes regimes. The former is far likelier than the latter.