The freaking Taliban outlasted the US in Afghanistan, China is not some back water military power. In Vietnam the US got punched in the face and eventually decided they didn't want any more. The US does not have the stomach to be in a war with China, they want wars to be easy and short and that would not be the case.

China also holds tremendous amount of the US' debt, they could collapse the US economy by calling it in. Most large US corporations also do business in China and $$$$ is what controls the US gov't not principals or morals.

The situation is not simple.

Is China any better? Who knows, but hey, at least they did not go around the world and bombed millions in the name of a failed ideal

Both seem equally eager and China is acitvely preparing and the poking and proding during a pandemic is a clear sign they are keen on the idea, hopefully provoking I would imagine so they can get more international support. 

The US is not a failing power, they were stronger than they ever were the month before the pandemic and looked to be on a continuing strength. Now with them pulling their dick out of China they will only increase in strength while China looses economical strengths simultaneously with so many countries eager to get out and quit the outsourcing. China know this and that's why so many analysts think this will be Chinas time to do the grab, right after the pandemic clears but not long enough to loose that strength. 

There are many types of war the US and China could engage in short of troops on the ground but this particular thread is concerning a cold war and there are so many nations that can be curently used as proxy, The US are already in Veneuzalla under the guise of a drug war which is a brittle front for what it actually is. I'd prefer they go to a full on hot war and pull the plaster off, have it over quick and fast instead of ending up with another Korea and Vietnam situation... wouldn't you? The topic of the thread, like, Do we really need a cold war? I say no, we need a hot war. Quick and fast and a good boom after, instead of decades long mess with the threath og nuclear war looming as the threats fly. 

Ok, let's play along.  Which country is China's closest ally?  On the other hand, which country is the USA's closest ally? Canada? UK? Israel?...etc.

Also, in WW2, the USA fought against Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, today those countries are some of the closest allies to the USA.  Again, I ask a question: What countries are allied to China?

I'm not American and I will dare, A whole generation of young men from western allied nations gave up their lives so I could dare and you could disagree and their sons and the sons of their sons fought to protect it and save our future arses from the communism in the decades after as from nuclear war before mutually assured distruction was on the table. 

And yes, there is a clear goal in the manipulation to destabilise and cause confusion. They are attacking from within and if you don't believe me, have a look at the most recent few months on covid alone and how they managed to manipulate US citizens to seed fear but do a dive and find the countless other attempts they've been exposed of before covid, just the times they've been caught and exposed, mind. 

Like I said, I am against those wars and the murder for oil in the middle east. This is vastly different, it's the difference in how we get to live not with what we get to live. It's not material and it's something you can't easily get back without a generation or many generations suffering in the attempt. It's akin to letting fascism run a much a century ago and there were plenty like you back then who thought fascism would be something that could co exist, it was as devisive as letting China do their thing but we all know how that went. Like it or not, China and the West can't exist together when the west pulls out, one has to go or one has to pull back to the nation level. Trump and co might do it but it's very unlikely in his timeframe for office and the CCP have all the time they need with no tricky managment changes to work around, they can pull off a near Orwellian siuation on the world given enough time and by near I mean almost exactly. They already have managed it near well enough on their own people and you can see those tendrils grabbing onto the rest of the world if you just look, just take the time to research and access it.