Power Projection: China’s Fourth Aircraft Carrier

The type 001 and 001A are essentially test beds for refining procedures and training new officers and sailors on aircraft carrier ops. That doesn't mean they are toothless, just that they aren't the razor sharp spear tips we've come to expect from our own aircraft carriers. The Type 002 however, is taking the next step by adding things like advanced radars, and electromagnetic catapult systems. My guess, like Mr. Sutton, is that they are going to pause for awhile after finishing this fourth carrier, before moving onto a nuclear powered 3rd generation of type 003 carriers. That's the one they are going to mass produce, and that's the model we need to be wary of. By the 2030's, those 3rd generation ships will start coming together, and by the 2050s China will almost certainly reach military parity with the United States in terms of force projection. Get ready for Cold War 2.0

I think China and Russia will clash before the United States and China. Just a hunch I have because the Russians had previous armed clashes with them on their border. There is that whole bad history between the two from the 1960's over who would lead the Communist movement. Russians hold grudges forever and can't possibly be pleased that China is treating them as a junior partner in trade agreements today. I see a clash comming at some point between those two. Even under Trump and his trade war, I still think we have better relations with China than the Russians do.