Since US may lose power to an authoritarian regime four times its population, US should act sooner or later while it can do so effectively, and the question is when and how.

> It is okay to be conservative, but it is wrong to be paranoid.

As to whether US is acting paranoid, you may be interested in the resources listed in another thread [1].

Those resources argue (agreeable or not) that China has been playing the long game, declaring ambitious goals (to dominate production of key technologies by 2025, build a world class military by 2035, and be a superpower by 2049) and consistently acting towards those goals (including technology transfer). Some strategists suggest protecting the technological lead and outrun China on innovation [2].

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25723594

[2]: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/global-strategy-2021-an-alli...

Don’t be silly. Our adversaries are a short and known list that happens to include some of the larger powers in the Old World.

I’m less concerned about someone threatening the United States directly than I am about them threatening, in no particular order: Israel, Japan, Europe, particularly Eastern Europe where the threat is, Real China (Taiwan), South Korea, etc.

That said, I’m also concerned about the PRC exporting its censorship regime under the leadership of Chairman Winnie the Pooh. They’re not there yet but they’re pushing.

I can see China may export influence, and will certainly threat Taiwan. That's probably a given. I recommend people read about the history of China to understand why I am so certain about it.