Interesting Take

"Underrated possibility is China doesn't have the stomach for great power competition and just gives up. Zero Covid was a sign their ambition is just to rule over a docile population, giving up the policy when they raised a fuss."

Thought experiment: take the toughest 16 year old kid in China and put them in a random American public school. Are they the toughest kid there? I'm betting not. I'm betting not even top 5. Why? Main reason: all the toughest kids I knew growing up were younger brothers. Couple that with how Americans still do a lot - and I mean a lot - of sports. Including football. I don't see Chinese equivalents yet.