It's already too late.
China has it's economic tendrils into all areas and countries, except perhaps Russia - I've no idea there.
It's also spent decades buying up and storing raw material/resources/minerals.
In the Western world it's been using it's economic power to buy up/into companies etc.
In the developing world it's been bankrolling and investing in infrastructure.
They play the long game and I suspect it's already gone too far to turn the clock back.
China doesn't fear any other area/state, bourne out by it's actions
I remember reading about this sort of scenario in a Tom Clancy book a long time ago.
I’ve seen what the little wankers are up to and you’re correct. They’ve been buying up the majority of iron ore fines from India and Ukraine, where it’s been shipped to Lianyungang. They’re also buying all the bauxite and coal from Australia and shipping it up in bulk.
They’re laying claim to all sorts of islands in the South China Sea and building artificial archipelagos there. They’re bullying the Js over the Okinawa chain, too.
By the end of this decade, they’ll have taken Taiwan by force; I’m not a gambling man but I’d bet on that.