Yes and No.

1. The US should get rid of legislation that prevents outsourcing of naval construction to foreign entities. The addition of Korea and Japan could bring our shipbuilding into competition with China.

2. The PLA is untested; it is also undergoing a ruthless purge. Tiny Vietnam defeated a less modern China in the late 70s. The US has the advantage of extensive combat experience.

3. If there is a war, presumably Japan and Korea will be our allies. They add powerful elements to the US military and can serve as logistical prepositioning depots. China has no allies.

4. China is in the midst of multiple internal crises - population decline, economic distress, population dissatisfaction with the hyper-police state Xi has constructed, a non-compliant attitude among Chinese youth, among other tears in Xi's Mandate of Heaven. To change Xi's draconian COVID policy, all it took was a few white placards without writing.

5. Perhaps most dangerous for China, Xi is surrounded by mini-Xis, none of whom will gainsay him. Unlike the US military which allows all opinions and viewpoints to be aired and heard, Xi has limited information input. He has traded pragmatism for ideology. This is all magnified by the eternal culture of Chinese corruption.

Although I am courting a mainland Chinese woman and learning Mandarin, China is clearly the aggressor nation (think massive saturation of Taiwan's airspace with PLAAF jets). Let us hope the US re-elects Biden and works toward solving any soluble problems you pointed out. Best of all would be a democratic China.

Peter