Re trade vs conquest—If smart people are in charge of a smart populace, I agree. But China’s South China Sea colonialism + attitude toward Taiwan suggest that they aren’t viewing things solely in those terms. They act like a people who find terminal value in throwing their weight around and in taking Taiwan, or at least in reducing the influence of the U.S.-Japan alliance in the area by doing those things.
Re your example of Bretton Woods—in an analogous situation, the U.S./world order would be ready to give China great trade terms, but China would not even perceive such terms to be possible—wouldn’t that give China an incentive to conquer instead of trade, as the Axis powers did? I am probably misinterpreting your point here. (Does China want more access to U.S./world markets than it already has?)
Re trade vs conquest—If smart people are in charge of a smart populace, I agree. But China’s South China Sea colonialism + attitude toward Taiwan suggest that they aren’t viewing things solely in those terms. They act like a people who find terminal value in throwing their weight around and in taking Taiwan, or at least in reducing the influence of the U.S.-Japan alliance in the area by doing those things.
Re your example of Bretton Woods—in an analogous situation, the U.S./world order would be ready to give China great trade terms, but China would not even perceive such terms to be possible—wouldn’t that give China an incentive to conquer instead of trade, as the Axis powers did? I am probably misinterpreting your point here. (Does China want more access to U.S./world markets than it already has?)