China’s worsening economy and Biden’s ineptitude increase the likelihood of Xi playing the jingoistic card of war and invasion. //

But there’s a way out, one common to dictators: start a war to stoke nationalist fervor.

This option is often overlooked by Western observers, who feel comfortable in their mirror-imaging fallacies. Under this bias, they assume that foreign regimes act with the same rationale as the nations where they have lived, studied, vacationed, or worked.