The real question isn't what we should do as China becomes more powerful but how we should prepare for the possibility that the entire Chinese system unravels....

http://www.theepochtimes.com/the-chinese-communist-regime-is-on-the-brink-of-disintegration-says-leading-china-expert_3167543.html

oh, and Trump is killing them in the trade war...

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/the-us-is-in-a-great-position-in-china-trade-deal-thanks-to-president-trump-china-needs-the-deal-while-the-us-wins-either-way/

mhaze wishful thinking can be harmful if it blocks true understanding of a current threat
Folk much like you, here in this country in the 1930,s told us concerns about Japan was just silly
As we exported the scrap iron they would soon send back
Chine is not a country that respects human rights, it is not an honest country, not even a nice one
But it will not be defeated by such as your dreams
In fact, much like Japan, it may use monetary breakdown, as reason to launch a war

Belly,

You are right on the ball when it comes to China.

China wants to carve out a global empire and Xi Jinping is on track to be its first emperor.

There is something in the Chinese way of thinking that makes them want to have an emperor and an empire. Anyone want to offer an explanation?

The Chinese have always seem themselves as being superior to other peoples and their history is full of wanting other peoples and nations to pay homage to their emperor.

Did you know that in the late 13th century AD China invaded what is now Indonesia because it wanted the local kingdoms in the archipelago (principally Java and Sumatra) to submit to Chinese hegemony

Mr O knew that and do you know a book the Japanese love predicts that country will see three world wars lost before it, Japan rules the world
We await mhazes collapse of China at our peril
Politician from both sides have been bribed by them and it will continue

Misopinionated,

Well, no, it would have been the Mongols who tried to invade Java, as they tried to invade northern Vietnam (Tonking) and Japan in the 1280s - all of those efforts failed.

In fact, foreign powers ruled China for much of the last millenium, the Mongols for close on a century, 1271-1368, then after the Ming dynasty, the Manchus, related to the Mongols, for close on three hundred years, 1644 - 1910. That foreign rule may have provided the grievances by the current Chinese leadership to restore its full control, not just of China proper, but other regions like Tibet, Manchuria, and Sinjiang - and any other neighbouring regions which, by the magic of drawing lines on a map, can be claimed by China, the southern seas being the most obvious and most ridiculous claim.

Yes, like all relatively efficient totalitarian regimes, the Chinese authorities will keep pushing their Belt and Road program when it suits, and nibble away at small and powerless states such as those in the Pacific, and when it suits, they will get much more aggressive. They have already had a go at Vietnam - and failed. They imagine that the Manchu invasion of Taiwan in 1683 gives them the right to declare that island to be now part of China. They claim vast areas across Central Asia, even bits of Kashmir.

Yes, they are a huge long-term concern for every country in their region. Any government, including ours, has to work very carefully to assert its independence while engaging with China in trade etc. As south-east and southern Asian countries build their economies, Australia should be fully supportive in building strong and mutually beneficial friendships with those countries.

Joe

Loudmouth,

Please, I definitely do not need a history lecture from someone who is not qualified in history.