Sino-American relations without September 11th

As I remember things, prior to 9/11, the conservative movement's literature was marked with a kind of Sino-phobia where China's military was concerned. If I'm remembering things correctly, Donald Rumsfeld urged the development of a missile defense shield to protect the country from China's nuclear arsenal. The first major international incident of President George W. Bush's Presidency was involved the capture of an American spy-plane, along with its crew, in Chinese territory.

Now to a degree, Sino-phobia remained present in conservative circles in terms of economics, not merely in terms of traditional, "keep jobs here" protectionism, but as useful scare tactic where Federal debt is concerned. Note the add that warned of a Chinese dominated America if spending wasn't quickly reduced during the 2010 midterm election. But while fears of China as an economic power never really went away, Osama Bin Laden's terrorist network understandably became the concern of conservative hawks in the 2000. For easily understandable reasons, fears about China's military were at the very least sidelined by fears of a second September 11th, and America's military, at least as far as the public could tell, focused the majority of its attention on the Middle East, and the War on Terrorism.

So let's assume, for the moment that September 11th never happens. And to avoid the quick and obvious "another terrorist attack takes its place" let's assume that the United States is incredibly lucky and no later comparable attack occurs, and consequently the War on Terrorism itself isn't merely delayed, but prevented entirely. What do Sino-American relations look like over the decade that follows? Was the conservative rhetoric about China's military exactly that, mere rhetoric to please the base, or will the actions of this alternate George W. Bush administration damage relations between China and the United States.

I'm well aware that I'm speaking about a topic about which I am relatively ignorant, and I'm probably blending rhetoric and action together. What I'm really asking is the extent to which the conservative focus on China as a rising military threat would harm America's relationship with China in this alternate historical context.
 
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