[ethbr1]

It's a bit rich to attribute goals of world domination to buying into businesses all over the world and building a very large army.

By those metrics, the rest of the world should have been terrified by the US for the last 60 years...

Those are necessary precursors to aggressive expansionism, but insufficient without political will.

[ericd]

Context matters, who is leading that machinery? They seem to have the political will to invade.

[ethbr1]

Taiwan is a tricky case. The CCP isn't unjustified in making a claim to it. Granted: that claim is contrary to international norms, law, and the population's self determination.

But if China were only threatening to invade Taiwan it would be a gray area.

Imho, their claims in the South China Sea are much more obviously expansionist, given the settled cases against them under international law.

Much easier to see those boiling over into China invading a few populated islands of the Philippines.