How exactly would China wage war with the US (besides nukes)? They don't have the means to send a meaningful amount of troops to US soil, and that's without the US Navy intervening. China might be able to deposit troops on the island of Taiwan, but that isn't scary to most members of Congress; the well-being of Taiwanese civilians doesn't generally affect US election outcomes.

These stories about a China-US war being imminent always come from people who personally benefit from Congress spending money. It's lobbying thinly-veiled as fear-mongering.