Have you heard of the saying 'eating bitter' ?

China and its political structure would appear to have a higher tolerance and capacity to endure suffering and sacrifice in the already commenced contest for global supremacy.

If you read history you will know that since 1840 and The Opium Wars Chinas sovereignty was inflicted multiple attacks and incursions.

Over the following 100 years China was a shambolic mess and this is known as the 100 years of humiliation- culminating in the murderous WW2 occupation of Eastern China by Japan. Read about the Massacre of Nanjing if you have time and stomach for it.

Since WW2 the CCP under Mao began a gradual, brutal quest to reconfigure Chinese culture to point where it is capable of responding to western imperialism in a manner that can successfully allow the continued security and development of China under Chinese leadership and true sovereignty.

High on the list of early imperatives was getting nukes and getting Tibet so US could not position nukes right over China...

Tell me this- how many nations today enjoy true and full sovereignty?

Japan?
Europe?
UK?
Canada, Australia, New Zealand?
S.Korea?
All the above are monetarily and militarily subservient tribute states to the US military industrial combine
.
The rest of the world?

I would suggest currently are either under US or Chinese tribute...or in an often precarious 'non-aligned' category.

Again- Tell me this- how many nations today enjoy true and full sovereignty?

I say only China and the US can be said to enjoy full and true self determination.

What do you say?

China aims to rebuild, maintain and develop under true sovereignty and to understand that ambition you must understand what it implies.
It is a lofty aim and one few if any other cultures have or can achieve- what it almost certainly requires is to confront the USA and gain a position of either domination or equality with US imperialism.

If you think that can be achieved easily then go back to read history again.
This is the contest of the 21 century and many of the trends suggest China may succeed.

In part it will depend upon how resilient both Chinese and US populations are.

How much their citizens are prepared and able to sacrifice and suffer in the name of gaining true and ongoing self determination.

Again I would suggest China may have a substantial advantage here as many US citizens appear obese, unaware and ill-informed of history and hugely arrogant and ignorant of the way the US is seen by many of the nations and cultures it has subjugated in one way or another.

Most educated Chinese are well aware of what The Opium Wars were and of what the modern Chinese government is seeking to achieve- the same cannot be said for the vast majority of US citizens I have encountered in this dialogue.