Pop superiority is kinda alpha. They are behind tech-wise but who knows what kind of strategies they can come up with? Swarming with cheap units might work since they have the pop to afford it. Like how many treats a battleship can repel and send 10 times more. One way to compete with that would be to get drones with AI, like one billion of them.

My take on it is that China is building it's fleet to play a bigger role in the world's affair. They won't have to go to war with the US, they just have to develop and they will eclipse America in no time. China has a dictator and long term plans vs the circus going on in the US. They're like the rest of the world, they know the USA are boiling and might crumble. They want to be the next big thing. Not that I like it one bit but if you're selling out to China, the US Navy can't do shit about it.