Do we have any reason to believe this "common knowledge," or are we just projecting from Western imperialist tendencies? China has a _long_ tradition of being insular.
One belt one road. Much ink has been spilled on China's recent international ambitions that will make infrastructure investments in 70 countries between now and 2050. The reason this is common knowledge is that their superpower ambitions are blindingly obvious.
why is the perspective that they are making these investments to secure their economic future against foreign interference less valid than "they are trying to control world affairs"? China has never been interested in pushing its ideology unlike certain actors today. And regardless of how Westerners feel about it, HK is indisputably a domestic issue, and Taiwan arguably so. There's never been any indication of China wanting to project military force abroad. Their stated aims of being a regional force in a multipolar world make much more sense.
I take great issue with Western portrayal of China as an antagonistic threat when it's the West that has done the lion share of provocation, the West that continues to believe it deserves a say in East Asian affairs.
