Mao was a very different kind of beast than the current senior administration. My point is that 21st century China is basically carrying out the playbook that the US superpower developed in the second half of the 20th century. We’ve seen a lot of this stuff before… it’s just that the weight is clearly shifting toward China, now that the US administration is eating up itself. Except that the Chinese leadership isn’t even trying to pretend it follows democratic ideals. It’s both fascinating and terrifying to watch.

Agreed.

Just because the People’s Republic of China is ruled by the “Communist Party” in an authoritarian manner doesn’t mean that China still has a communist socio-economic order. The regime opened up to significant capitalist elements decades ago, allowing market forces and private enterprise. It’s not communism that’s generating those billionaires. Just sayin’.