IMO the Ukraine is the fall guy for the US aspirations
to contain Russia (Good or Bad or Indifferent) while others like
Georgia, Moldova and Belarus are also in Uncle Sam's crosshairs.
This war has simply accelerated the inevitable.
Since 2015 China's GDP (PPP) has been bigger than that
of the USA and the Chinese margin has and is growing in the interim..
This with China's planned :
-BRI
-Made in China 2025
-Artificial Islands
-Gradual build up of Armed Forces
positions China to push back the USA from Asia & "The South"
debunking the US Global Hegemony and compelling it to
share the world by ensuring that the impact of US economic/trade
sanctions on China are minimal.
.
IMO by 2050 there will be 2 powerful blocks:
-US & its allies (including Aus #)
-China & its allies (BRI + SCO members + BRICS)
This of course will mean Cold War 2 ; that is if there is not WW3
in the interim.
Graham Allison's book "Destined for War" is an interesting read
because it highlights the risk of the Thucydides' Trap:
# This is why Aus as to wean ourselves off China economic dependance
and diversify trade by downstream processing our minerals and trading
with our non-China FTA partners .