My personal redneck opinion. . . .
As a culture, China is quite patient.
They are in it for the long game.
Problem now is that they may be realizing the biggest threat to the PRC is their own internal policies over the last 2 or 3 decades.
Some say they are in an irrecoverable trajectory.
If this is even partially true, look for them to take some frantic actions in an effort to placate and distract 1.4 billion pissed off countrymen.
"Sinister" plans against the United States would be quite simple to initiate right now.
We currently have uncontrolled borders as well as a distracted and uninterested citizenry.
Add to that a government that can be (and is) bought, influenced, coerced and blackmailed into actions that are not in the interest of our national security. Now you are a very, very soft target.
Without even resorting to an overt kinetic attack, our entire country can be completely savaged with >75% population loss.
Our infrastructure is so fragile and our manufacturing/distribution base so fractured or outsourced to non-CONUS entities, all that is needed is to tip a handful of seemingly non-important dominos.
In a totally logical and predictable fashion, things would become untenable for 99% of the population in short order.
Like going into a giant whirlpool the worse things would get, the faster they would degrade.
Regardless of our standing military, the Republic would be in an indefensible situation and not even necessarily have a solid clue to who the perpetrator is. Basically no one to strike back at.
Even if they knew who the culprit was, most hands on deck would be overwhelmed with domestic emergencies within our own borders.
I feel that we are exceptionally vulnerable right now. There is no less than a half dozen countries and regimes that would revel in our demise.
Even though I can't paint them as "the good guys", I do not think Russia is one of those.
.