I think that part is obvious, at least to anyone who can read between the lines, so maybe not to young children. Also in a world still trying to make nice with

I think that part is obvious, at least to anyone who can read between the lines, so maybe not to young children. Also in a world still trying to make nice with the CCP, nobody was going to talk much about that aspect anyway. But the interesting thing that Liu accomplished with these books, is communicating how it feels to be faced with a technologically superior adversary intent on colonizing you. That’s not something most modern Americans and many others have ever experienced, but Liu made it universally relatable. Worse, you have a means of leveling the playing field, rapidly catching up, but your leaders and society keep making poor decisions, preventing you from doing so - trusting the Trisolarians after Luo Ji became Swordholder, Luo Ji’s successor, banning light speed research, strategy for defending against a Dark Forest strike, etc. That is probably what it felt like living under the CCP for a long time - Great Leap Forward (famine), Cultural Revolution (destruction of knowledge and science), etc. all unnecessary setbacks to China's advancement. I suspect that’s partly why the books have captured so many people’s imaginations, it's an exploration of cultural systems and psychology as much of scifi.