If china and the United States ceased trading, more people would die than in any war since world War 2. Kinetic wars are most likely a thing of the past. The next world war won’t look like the last one.
China isn't ready to meet up with tens of thousands of the newer US 12-inch torpedos (CRAW - compact rapid attack weapon) either. The Franz Ferdinand line was funny, though. We've just seen a demonstration, in the Ukraine, that defense is now extremely strong compared to attack - maybe more so than even in WWI. Small is beautiful and ever-cheaper AI has everything to do with that.