Convenient for them to have a conflict with China right about...

Convenient for them to have a conflict with China right about now, though. That would give them a pretext to seize China's very substantial investments in the USA without compensation --- as they did with Iran's assets there (inter alia) --- solving their debt problem at least in part and at least for the time being. In "democracies" the planning horizon is typically only about as far as the next election. Fundemental failing of democracies. Regular elections encourage policies with a short term return --- ie.within the incumbent's current mandate --- even if the cost is long term --- ie.occuring beyond the mandate of the current incumbent.

As you have repeatedly noted, however, such larceny on a grand scale wouldn't solve the USA's fundamental problem --- that being (in a nutshell) their inability to live within their means.