Not surprised if they intend to however according to Joel Skousen they are still not ready to enter this battle as of yet. They need at least another decade to catch up with US military tech. So some US Hawks want to engage them first and this would be to the detriment of both parties.
"THE GROWING THREAT OF CHINA
China clearly has its sights set on world hegemony. The attitude of oriental superiority over the occidental bourgeoisie has long pervaded China and even predates Russian predatory tendencies. Realistic analysts who have long experience with both Russia and China know that neither will long be subservient to the other. Russia and China may attempt to use each other for short-term gain, but will eventually tangle for ultimate supremacy.
For the present, Russia and China are teaming up against the West in a new unilateral quest for arms. This is no surprise. The Russians have been arming China, off and on, since the Chinese Communists came to power under Chairman Mao. But now, the Chinese are playing both sides of the fence, East and West. Knowing that Russia is willing to supply it with plentiful quantities of second-rate equipment, China is looking toward the West for advanced American technology and funding in order to upgrade its Soviet and home-grown equipment.
No nation on earth is building military power faster than China, but it has further to go, so it is not yet a threat but it will be our biggest threat in the next decade. In the end, the complacency of other nations regarding China will change into outright terror as the world one day wakes up and finds itself facing a military monster of incredible size and ferocity.
The Chinese already have a formidable land based army of men, tanks and artillery. What it lacks is a world class navy, air transport and missile force, coupled with a sophisticated communications and control system sufficient to extend Chinese power worldwide. That's no small task to accomplish, but they are rapidly developing all that capacity. They are even ahead of the US in over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles---a real threat to our carriers.
Naturally, China is harnessing its billions in trade dollars supplied by naive American champions of free trade to build their forces. The Chinese leaders are openly derisive of American Republicans who are convinced that peaceful trade will moderate Communism. For the Chinese, war with the West is inevitable. It's no longer a matter of if, but when!"
https://www.worldaffairsbrief.com/keytopics/threats.html
