All very true, thanks. However, I wonder if:

1) Though US spends more than 2x as much as China on defense, China's military hardware tends to be newer and more state-of-the-art. Example: their aerodynamics and space/satellite tech (unfortunately becoming part of warfare?) are impressive.

2) It would seem that modern warfare is becoming all about missiles, and China leads in ultrasonic missile tech.

3) Tanks are giving way to drones, and they are relatively cheap for smaller countries. One assumes China could make many of them cheaply.

4) China may have abilities to jam our military communications.

5) Some adjacent Asian countries show little resistance to China (notably Indonesia and Malaysia). If China gobbles up Taiwan and adjacent SE Asian countries (and Pacific Islands), it greatly increases its military footprint?

6) US Military spending needs a good audit and movement towards "leaner/meaner". I suspect we may have too many expensive toys (to the delight of military contractors) but less effective in a war of attrition. Remember, in WW II the humble Sherman tanks won out over the expensive Panzers, and our shear numbers of aircraft overwhelmed the Axis powers.

7) If the US doesn’t get ahold of its rapidly expanding debt, China may simply be able to outspend us in a hypothetical war.

Nobody wants war with China over their expansion, but a Taiwan invasion starts to look like Russia's Ukrainian invasion?

1) In a strange way, it might wake the US up politically and militarily, the way Japan's Pearl Harbor invasion did in 1941 .

2) Yes, the US has advantages in aliances and geographical presence. It can also produce more/better weaponry & electronics if it utilizes its advantages in plurality (ie remember the Rosie Riveters & "La Bomba" factories in Veracruz). China (like Japan) is xenophobic and has a harder time making friends.

3) As such, we'll need to put aside our differences and cooperate, resist foreign interference & propaganda (during conflict, the far right and far left start looking stupid).

4) Like WW II, we'll need to bolster the tech education of domestic minds, accept the best foreign scientific minds, "vet" the disloyal. Example: with so many H1Bs in US tech, one may ask where are your loyalties?