Russia has around 25,000 or more, some estimate it to be over 30,000. The West is a threat to Chinese economic and military expansion, not an asset. China's Influence Over the World's Waterways . Why Fiji May Matter . You can't just start a war and hope to occupy Europe with conventional forces without your major cities and military installations getting blasted in the process.
Nuclear weapons are a very powerful detterant.
Once China gets a nuclear deterrant it is much more likely to run through India and sub-Asia into a vulnerable Europe. America won't risk urban annihilation to protect Europe from a conventional Chinese invasion. You need to rethink this. Good, then you have one thing going for you. Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management.