I think they should take over the Middle East the same way they rule over Tibet. There are millions in the PLA that can keep the lid on. It may be worth the oil to make the area stable.
Well we know the ChiComs know how to subjugate a restive region. They just kill them all. Kind of like the Russians do but with more troops at hand.
We don’t need the oil, so let them fight the European countries for it.
“Now, on the matter of the South China Sea you say is all yours...and retain the right to award passage...we have a problem”.