Xi Jinping was confirmed in a third term as president of China at the National People's Congress last week, and not one of the 3,000 delegates voted against him. Why would they? Everything is perfect in the People's Republic of Oz, and the chief Wizard doesn't even to need to hide behind a curtain.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the one topic on which both Democrats and Republicans can agree is the Chinese Threat (once known as the "Yellow Peril", but those were different days). The politicians' posture, the strategists warn, and the armed services rejoice in the emergence of a "peer competitor".
Russia long ago ceased to fill that role satisfactorily, and even a Russia that has now gone full rogue doesn't do much to expand the US defence budget. It's still "Upper Volta with nuclear weapons" and doesn't provide the American military with an adequate pretext for building new rockets and aircraft carriers.
