"China makes decisions all the time that are at the expense of its economy. Is there a chance that they would choose their belief in sovereign rights over their economy?"
China is no longer the insular ideological nation it once was, and the people there do not wish to return to those times. The most dangerous adversary is one who has nothing to lose. China has far too much too lose to make such a grave mistake. If they did, it would not be just VMT tanking on the ASX.
Many countries (Australia and NZ included) would lose their biggest export market, and most would lose their biggest supplier of manufactured goods, but China would lose virtually all of their markets and virtually all of their suppliers. They would go back to how they were under Mao. An isolated country with no meaningful foreign trade.
It would likely precipitate another revolution. The CCP is keenly aware of the social contract they have with the Chinese people, and understand that they only retain legitimacy by maintaining and improving their standard of living. These days pragmatism is the CCP's primary doctrine.
