Don't be paranoid. China is just a third world country, and it's military budget is just a small portion of US's. I never worry about China's military.
Did you forget the /sarcasm
Once again the NYTIMES makes our enmeies seem more potent than they actually are to depress our morale.
Remember how they made the Soviets sound unchallengable? Remeber all the Saddam had "the 4th largest army in the world", and the "US is preparing 20000 body bags".
The Chinese military is a paper tiger, military success depend on soldiers who are committed, focused, disciplined, and determined. None of which describes the current makeup of the Chinese Army. China is suffocating under its own corruption.
China's military budget is assumed to be in the top 10, following US, Russia, and Japan. Meanwhile, US military officials and Japanese military officials believe that the military budget is probably double of what China officials have claimed.