Andrew Batson — Centralization and the crisis mindset

Focuses on economic challenges that China faces and downplays the military threat. I think that both are involved in consolidation of power. The Chinese leadership realizes that it is considered the primary adversary of the US and the chief competitor for global influence in the future. China also perceives America as preparing to act to preserve its global hegemony economic and politically. This is about trimming the ship for economic and possibly military war.

China also perceives the US doing its best to take Russia down and the Chinese leadership also realize that US control of Russia is a stepping stone to the Chinese Western border. So don't tell me there is no significant military component here.

Actually, the American leadership is so blinded by power it can't see the obvious, which Henry Kissinger undoubtedly explained to DJT:  It would be a strategic blunder to drive Russia toward China, generating a superpower capable of defeating the US economically and militarily in the near future if not presently. The obvious strategic solution is to reverse the Kissinger-Nixon move that split China off from the USSR, which was then the chief competitor of the US. Now that China is the chief competitor, the reverse strategy should be employed.

Andrew Batson's Blog
Centralization and the crisis mindset
Andrew Batson

See also

Project Syndicate
The Double Helix of Chinese History

Denise Y. Ho

also

LK gets his marching orders from DJT.

New top White House economic advisor says China has earned a ‘tough response’

Bears out the view that Kudlow was appointed more as a skilled communicator than an economic expert (in addition to having been an early supporter).

“A thought that I have is the United States could lead a coalition of large trading partners and allies against China, or to let China know that they’re breaking the rules left and right,” he said. “That’s the way I’d like to see. You call it a sort of a trade coalition of the willing,” an apparent reference to President George W Bush’s “coalition of the willing” in the war against Iraq.

That's exactly how the Chinese leadership will view it — economic warfare. The US going on the offensive not only against North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Russia but also China. 

Asia Times
Kudlow calls for ‘trade coalition of the willing’ against China

Also

White House eyes limiting visas for Chinese studying in US: Report