There is no culture, it's easily changed when the situation is right. China has innovation, but not a lot why because as I said we are catching up.
It's like Math, you can't say Newton was not innovative when he was a boy, he just didn't know enough to start innovating. But once we come of age it will happen.
If China has this "copy/paste" culture, then why do all eastern Asian countries follow our customs and everything Chinese. Be more countries, but unlike Europe we didn't break into so many different countries when our many empires fell.
As to military, why not argue about it, what's the difference at this point, isn't that why you posted this in the first place.
China can call up over 10 million trained men in short amount of time to fight US, if US were to invade our HOMELAND, you think Iraq is bad, in a conventional war, you may have early advantage, but as you get more in land, you will face being surrounded on all side, and harsh terrain and all type of crap.
Pretty much same deal as Germans faced. Our military production, due to many reasons, mostly just not as crazy as Hitler are not producing at that rate, we could produce hundreds of thousands of tanks, unlimited guns, and ammo and enough missiles to bomb the world into mars, but why do that in peace.
And we could do things about it, and btw, Russia is the one pissed about the middle east not us. Your thinking is very weird, if the US just randomly goes into countries you will be destroyed. Also we do still have MAD. The button is just as powerful today as it was then, maybe more so.
Also we can screw the US into a coma by shutting down all US interests in China and stop all shipments to US and refuse payment on all US goods. We will of course also die, but the option is there.