Ask Lemmygrad

I have to agree. There will come a point where the US navy will do something like throw up a blockade and just steal any Chinese ships that attempt to approach Africa to buy raw minerals and China can either try and construct the most elaborate smuggling scheme in the world or they have to confront NATO with force, maybe sink some ships, maybe just escort their own and start providing military assistance to friendly African or other states who risk being couped or attacked by western forces. It'll likely be very low confrontation and framed as defensive and limited in nature to start as I don't see China wanting to war with the west even if the west takes off both gauntlets and slaps them repeatedly across the face. It then becomes a question of whether Chinese assistance can overcome centuries of western expertise and experience couping, dividing and conquering, creating proxy forces, sectarian strife fostering, blackmail, and destabilizing regions for profit and imperialism. It tends to be easier to destroy than to build so it's going to be rough.