Don't trust Trump/I'm leaving this planet

[YinYang]

But sparking a new war in Asia? THAT could be truly devastating, both in terms of lives and in terms of global stability. That's one of the few things that actually could potentially lead to a WWIII.

The US is no longer in a position to threaten, and both China and Russia have made it abundantly clear that they will under no circumstance allow a war on their doorstep. The power balance is such that it will only ever stay with toothless threats from the US. Kim Jong-un has said he will never roll back his nuclear program, so the only card left to play is sanctions, that's it. The power shift from West to East is largely happening economically, and if China rolls out the 'petro-yuan' this year, well let's just say that it will be a huge move against the dollar, and then we'll just have to see how that pans out. If you listened to Xi Jinping’s recent speech at the opening of their National Congress, which was longer than 3 hours! Good heavens!... must have been a staying awake contest... anyway, it gave a good indication of how China's sees itself as the next superpower. The message was clear to the West, and allied with Russia, nothing stands in their way.

That's how it looks to me, and if China wants to maintain their 30 year plan to become the next superpower, they can't allow any regional instability. It's largely about the "One Belt One Road" initiative for them, and any threats to that will be countered. The Syrian intervention was an example of that.