Unless they're going to swim or row, those 700 million humans who could fight if needed don't do much in a naval war.
The risk is, if the Chinese pick a naval fight and their navy gets pummeled, it's a PR disaster. That's a risk for the leadership, not so much for the country.
That's 700 million potential factory workers, military support staff, and soldiers, and the factories are already built, US companies paid for many of them.
The risk is, if the Chinese pick a naval fight and their navy gets pummeled, it's a PR disaster. That's a risk for the leadership, not so much for the country.