[themaninthedark]

I think that the events that played out after September 11th show that Americans still have the same reaction.

[pfdietz]

Sarah Paine makes this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eebSpobsPmM

[lupusreal]

There are reasons they might think this would be different. That would be (probably) 30+ years in the past, in that case American civilians were targeted, on American soil, using flights full of American civilians as the weapons.

I do think that America would probably go to war if US military bases or carrier groups were attacked by the Chinese, but I think it's plausible that China might come to believe otherwise.