Some like to hype up the strength of China’s navy. Although the Chinese have worked at a breakneck pace in recent decades to build a modern navy, it currently cannot compare to its U.S. counterpart. While China has plenty of ships and has constructed artificial islands to falsely claim dominion over the South China Sea, its forces could never hope to successfully engage a U.S. Navy carrier strike group.
A surprise attack would undoubtedly damage American forces. The attacking Chinese would be annihilated.