China is definitely on the rise, in terms of both economy and political power. In fact, some people say that the US sees China as a bigger geo-political threat than Russia. And rightly so!

As of now, it seems as if China is still primarily focused on controlling its own population (including that of Hong Kong).

Nevertheless, as China's power continues to grow and as the US empire
continues to collapse, we can't be sure of what China will do. But we can be certain that it's not necessarily benign or benevolent!