Human nature has not changed since Adam Smith.

Standard of living depend upon the quality and efficiency of the internal economy and upon the extent of trade and resource hegemony. Both of these factors rely upon the quality of government a nation enjoys, or suffers.

China was the most advanced economy on earth 1000-500 years ago. Marco Polo saw it. It enjoyed dominance over and tribute from all immediate neighbours except Japan. It enjoyed a rational and efficient tax system and logistics trade routes infrastructure funded via taxation in a win win manner. Medieval China was far more wealthy and stable than medieval Europe because China had a cohesive unified and efficient government. Europe was a shambles of schisms, factions, poverty and incessant war.

While it was never in competition with the west before 1800, since The Opium Wars it has been forced to respond to the brutal global resource imperialism imposed by the west. China is virtually the only non euro-christian culture to have never been completely subjugated and to now be in a position to reject western imperialisms dictates.

China is now responding- Both Ukraine and Middle East conflicts are proxy wars between China and The West. State power and economic strength inevitably rest heavily upon the military and strategic power projection capability...this is where Libertarians fail to see the world as it is and always has been.

There is far more latent support for Chinas new economic model than N.Korea, Iran and Russia who are already operating under Chinas new empire and openly challenging the wests imperialism. The west with its late empire decadence and division is under a real challenge.