Comments by "Alan Friesen" (@alanfriesen9837) on "Can China's economy afford a war with Taiwan? | DW Business Special" video.

It would be a lot more balanced if you had more than one viewpoint. The interviewee seems competent enough, but getting a Chinese analyst to represent China's view of these situations would make for a more credible overall presentation.
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It appears to me that China has three weak areas militarily in comparison to the United States: fighter aircraft numbers, aircraft carrier numbers, and submarine silence. China appears to have military advantages in missiles and missile technology, drone numbers, overall manufacturing capacity, and if a conflict developed around Taiwan, logistical proximity. I'm pretty sure that China's not confident that they can guarantee success at this point, and I don't think they are likely to move until they are.
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The strategic argument, though valid, is not the dominant argument. This has much more to do with Chinese self-respect, and no argument short of an absolute curb-stomping is going to make any impression on the Chinese.
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@TheKkpop1 The utility of aircraft carriers in the next war is a big point of debate. They certainly are useful between wars, but their degree of vulnerability is something that will definitely be tested the next time that two great powers clash. I do think the United States has a state-of-the-art navy and there are always incidences of mechanical failure when you have such a large assemblage of equipment. China's navy is becoming quite impressive and most of their heavy tonnage ships are pretty new. There is a benefit to having new stuff, you see this in naval engagement throughout history where newer equipment often blows older equipment out of the water. But new stuff has bugs to be worked out too. I don't think there is overall much difference between the technology levels of the American and Chinese militaries. I think both have fields where they have an advantage over the other. Which of those advantages prove to be the difference to the next conflict is not yet known.
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@chewycaca America has decades of warfare experience against foes who are substantially less powerful than themselves. That's not to dismiss the service of U.S. war veterans, but as a military machine, going up against China in and around Taiwan is going to be nothing like going up against Iraq or Afghanistan. I do think that the United States has a training advantage on China, in part because of that combat experience that you're pointing to, but I think that advantage is likely to dissipate within the first six months of a conflict. At that point Chinese troops and officers will be every bit as experienced as their American counterparts.
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