Are the Chinese trying to bait us into an arms race?

For the Chinese it's mission accomplished.

Every person that has even a passing interest in defense had eyes on their parade.  They had us guessing and marveling at their latest tech. 

Funny enough the emphasis wasn't on their fighters, bombers or armored vehicles.

No.

The focus seemed to be on their drones and missile tech.

Putting aside the propaganda value (or better stated, fully realizing that we're seeing a HUGE dash of propaganda in this parade) are we missing a huge part of the Chinese calculation?

Are they trying to bait us into an arms race?

I'm looking at the emphasis of the parade.  I'm looking at our history with the USSR.  Then I'm looking at the terrain in the Pacific region.

I don't think either side can win a decisive victory on land, in the air or at sea. I'm also of the belief that we would see a potential fight turn into a "western front" at sea (to include a few islands).

Add an ill advised arms race to a divided public, crumbling infrastructure, and a budget that is out of control and you have the recipe for victory without fighting.

In essence what we did to the USSR only with us being the victims.  I wonder if they foresee the US crumbling into different regions (assuming that's their plan/thinking)?

I'm impressed by the display but I think we should be cautious in how we assess it.