The US defence secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, James Mattis, repeatedly warned that China would revert to a Ming dynasty-style model, projecting its strong military, technological and economic influence globally. At the time, his views were widely questioned by mainstream academics as too aggressive. A decade ago, China still lagged far behind the United States. But Mattis underestimated China’s ambitions. On January 29, China announced the official launch of a national...