Chinese are business men, they will take over through trade not military might.
If China was expansionist they would have taken over Laos years ago. Also communist, Laos only has 4.5 million people and the land is resource rich ie a piece of piss for China to conquer. A land locked country with a long border with China.
We are lacky's to a dying US empire and will be dragged down by them. All our defense "experts" should be shot for treason for giving up our sovereignty and allowing foreign armies to use Australia as a staging point.
Naturally pessimistic, I am optimistic we will become a republic one day and that is when we can rewrite the rules eg no permanent foreign forces on our soil.
AUKUS is such a load of shit. Developed by that tosser skidmark morrison with that other tosser Trump (both psychopaths, zero empathy in those 2), with the UK trying to relive it's glory days of "the sun never sets". FYI Pompeo flew here several times on the sly to get the deal done, whilst at the same time both the UK and US persecute one of our own in Assange. So our gutless dickwad leaders create a new "Defense" deal with his persecuters...........great!!
AUKUS will drive our neighbour's towards China like Indonesia and PNG, who are not impressed with being left out the loop by Australia. Let alone us making the Pacific nuclear.
When the US gets officially fingered for Nord Stream we may wake up, but not the current crop of useless politicians we have now.

The Chinese economy has been stumbling due to the effects of Covid and bad planning. One pundit said that China would like access to the Chinese population of women on Taiwan because of the one-child policy effects. That, and stealing the chip fab capabilities. Supposedly, those facilities would go boom if an invasion started. Hence, the US Congress passed the chip fab initiative last year.

The main players attacking China in the US are on the Russian payroll. That reality makes the meeting of Xi and Putin interesting. China has been offering to broker peace in Ukraine as a 'disinterested' party.

I am surprised, but not very, to hear of China interfering in Australia's politics. I haven't seen any coverage of that, but then Russia's involvement in the US has been severely suppressed. While China may be on the verge of preeminence, if Putin completes his control of the US, then China becomes the weaker adversary.

Of course the dragon is rising. It has been for the last 60-70 years.
Our former Treasurer & Prime Minister Paul Keating although showing signs of loss of sharpness with age exquisitely eviscerated the incumbent PM & FM. the other day -

See also "Why is Australia not in BRICS?"

And this delightful short commentary from about ten years ago:

Sadly for America & its sycophantic Australian government their senior ministers do not have the gravitas of the Chinese leader.