Did 9/11 Create a Superpower China?

[Jolly]

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/after-9-11-china-grew-superpower-distracted-u-s-fixated-n1278671

[taiwan_girl]

Interesting article, but I think what was going to happen with China getting more powerful was going to happen no matter what.

I still do believe that their (China) time as a great power is going to be quite limited and short term.

[Axtremus]

After the dissolution of the USSR, I started seeing more and more news articles and films/TV productions framing various stories with China (or some Chinese looking persons) as villains.

Then 9/11 happened, and everything changed. “Islamic extremism” sucked all the attention away from China, the villains in films/TV then look like Arabs/Middle-Easterners. That, I believe, gave China 10+ years of essentially being “left alone” to develop with little outside interference.

Heck, the US’ anti-terrorism rhetorics and policies have even given various dictatorial powers excuses to designate internal oppositions “terrorists” and be suppressed with excuses and methods that would have elicited world criticism before 9/11. The likes of Putin benefited from this as well.