My thoughts were once we collapsed there would be no effective governing body to purchase from. Just swoop in, toss out a few packets of ramen noodles to the starving and you'd get what you want...
I think what China wants is 30 years from now for the US to be one of the low-cost labor capitals of the world.... that would indicate a crashed economy, 2nd/3rd world status and an impotent, decaying government and military.... Look how quickly after the USSR collapsed that we saw their naval fleets rusting away in port....
I think you are correct we can't keep financing our military on borrowed money, equipping it with foreign made parts and down grading our military personnel to the low standards of our F up society. Soon or later the house of cards will collapse.
Yes. The Chinese already have a replacement system for the dollar based SWIFT system that allows countries to transfer money, albeit digital, around. All this internal strife is designed to fracture what is left of the country into enclaves(territories) based on race. Think former Yugoslavia. Divide and conquer. Oldest trick in the book.