If they're smart, and careful, and really fucking tricky, they could use the situation to actually topple the US, or at least topple the USD as reserve currency.

For sure China is looking to play every economic card it can - gaining a Digi-Globo-Currency status is a trump card - albeit down the track - due to US's (self-killing, as Dan points out) stranglehold, historically.

In fact the last thing China probably wants is a shooting war when they have so many other kinds of exciting warfare at their disposal - that the UFWD has patiently spent decades setting up. The (overlapping) biggies being:

Economic: Aus is a great case-study - hopelessly dependent on China - total vassal-state - wouldn't say or do shit to offend CCP. Suspect France is the same judging by Macron's comments, but haven't researched it. All his crap about not being a vassal-state of US - i'll bet my (small) farm France is up to its neck in China economic dependence. With promises of: more where that came from

Cyber: As we dumb humans race head-long into a Passing-of-Thought-Batten to ... AI - actually AI is doing the racing head-on - we're standing remarkably still in terms of recognizing this bleeding-obvious danger-zone. That we appear to be living in real-time, somehow ... where corrupt humans still have a semblance of control. Which is a good argument for our perceived existence already being an AI simulation - either humanity (including me!) is right on the crest of this transfer of consciousness to AI ... or ... it's a game simulation ...

For argument's sake, let's say it's not. That would mean a Totalitarian Org (CCP) has world-leading capabilities in AI warfare technology. That's a game-changer weapon, right there.

As a Master of the Realm, of course you also have the best cyber-disruption capabilities. Turn off power/internet in your enemies' territories, be able to defend against them doing the same to you. Russia & China are already the ones doing the data-hacks of major western companies. Accumulation of data is everything. AI is accumulation.

Propaganda: If they could get the world's western media to promulgate THE Covid Lie, then that gives you an indication of level-of-control. AI, controlled by our current Orgs, will only make this more-so. Totalitarian/One Everything a hi-jacking of reality. Making the non-real real.

Global Institutional Power: China practically runs UN bodies such as WHO. It sees these institutions as the seats of global-power ... going forward ... A place where we can talk - GODS to GODS ...