For fucks sake? China was handed the critical tools, technology and knowledge of our bureaucracy through our Universities, corporations and government stupidity putting them in a position to dominate the US much quicker than any of these same entities expected. Your thinking of military budgets in 20th century terms and demonstrating your failure to consider how irrelevant boots on the ground or ships at sea has become. Nobody knows how many millions of its own citizens the Chinese have killed so making comparisons is comparing apples and oranges. I’m not defending our corrupt corporations, military or gov just recognizing the dependence our society relies on China for its continued existence. I’ve been in the military , held government positions know the stupidity, lies and corruption first hand and incompetence is the rule as clearly demonstrated for half a century and beyond. Yes our government is guilty of killing untold foreign lives and is quilts of spreading death across the globe and I condemn it. That does not mean I need to ignore the potential China has to seek revenge for past transgressions f it on the West. You also assume our bloated military budget is efficient and competently allocated and free from corruption which would be naive to assume based on results and MIC profits.