I think this is a generational question, and the language used in the quoted paragraphs seems more suited to the Cold War era than the current situation.

Many millennials and younger generations would disagree with the assertion that "Objectively, there is no basis for any such despair". This has roots primarily in what individuals in these generations consider a staggering failure of domestic policy - economic insecurity (following the 2008 crisis), income inequality, healthcare costs, student loans, elite capture/revolving door, political and business corruption, race relations, political polarization, among others - as well as a failure of foreign policy, primarily as a result of our repeated failures in the Middle East and an inconsistent application of our values (i.e., support for undemocratic regimes - not just in the Trump Admin, but beyond that). I would also disagree with the assertion that this is a "subtle" force - it's front and center.

I point the above because we should not discount the impact this awareness/perception of the situation at home, and consequent self-doubt, has, and will continue to have, on the China policy front, especially if one of the strategies we employ against China is the values/systems framework. I think the paragraph in question glosses over this issue, and it would be a mistake to think about U.S.-China conflict primarily as a "foreign policy" issue.

To be clear, this is not to say that these generations are susceptible to CCP propaganda. On the contrary, actions of the CCP in Tibet, Xinjiang, HK, and elsewhere are generally reviled. But this is followed by a degree of "whataboutism" ("What about us - look at all the bad stuff we've done"). This creates a general lack of self-confidence in how to approach the world, which in turn can be manipulated/leveraged by an entity as sophisticated as the CCP.