Chinese power projection is problematic. As far as I can figure out, the only use for Chinese submarines is to quietly dispose of sailors they're not fond of. Aircraft carriers are little better, even when they've had the Varyag tied up at Dalian (see Google Earth) for a case study/template. However, if the objective is someplace they can walk, I'd be worried.

Based on China's actions, rather than U.S. assessments or Chinese statements, the economic hegemony appears to be the goal. Even the military region commanders in China seem to spend more time with diplomacy than combat training (except for the MR with their equivalent of NTC, but that is one out of seven, and that MR does not have any external border).

I'm not just being contrarian, nor am I a starry-eyed believer in the nobility of the goals of China. U.S. analysts have been consistently guilty of mirror-imaging in assessments of China and the result has been an effort to paint China as a direct threat rather than a very subtle and patient one. More to the point, we consistantly discuss China as an expansionist power rather than the Middle Kingdom, the center that expects respect to be paid and desires influence rather direct control.