How the U.S. and China could go to war Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post March 9, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Chinese paramilitary policemen change shifts on the streets of Beijing near the Great Hall of the People Wednesday, March 3, 2021. In a sign of confidence China has reverted back to holding its annual Congress meetings to march this year after delaying them due to the outbreak of the coronavirus last year.Ng Han Guan/AP It's 2034 and a war is about to begin. A flotilla of three U.S. naval destroyers is furrowing a path through the South China Sea, a contested body of water that is the thoroughfare for a significant proportion of global trade. Near the ominously named Mischief Reef, they encounter and board a Chinese vessel. And then things start to spiral.