The Chinese Empire lasted about 2,000 years, so when it comes to imperialism, this isn’t their first rodeo. How does the new empire compare to the old one?
The old one was backed by military force, and the ability to pay off barbarians was a key component, but its most important feature was the conspicuous superiority of Chinese civilization, which ultimately converted and swallowed up barbarian invaders. Today, no one particularly admires the Chinese political system. Fear of Chinese military power matters in the South China Sea. However, the most important element, by far, is money.
The Chinese have been successful in buying plenty of support all over the world. The problem with that approach, however, is that you can’t buy everyone, and some people refuse to stay bought. What do you do then?
History tells us that when the investments of imperialist nations are threatened by political instability, they typically respond with military force. The Chinese have yet to face that situation, but it’s going to happen in the future, and don’t expect them to deviate from the pattern, their self-righteous rhetoric about non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries notwithstanding.