China may have a small window to get their house in order before things stop going in their favor.
They've invested like crazy to bootstrap domestic industries. Some have worked (manufacturing, batteries, telecom). Some are still works in progress (compute, AI, etc.)
But they're running out of time. They've invested like crazy in certain sectors and their demographics get worse day by day.
Also - they may be richer. But richer people don't want to work shit jobs, but they're not rich enough and well-trained to compete well for the good jobs either.
Can the regime withstand multiple years of stagnation or worse?
I'd agree - they're scared, insecure and lashing out.
