Maybe the Pax Sinica won't play out that way at all -- who knows.
Is it arguing in good faith to consider other perspectives outside of our own? Yes it is, and I consider the reverse to be in bad faith.
While I don't fully agree with Kant, I find the Universability of an approach to be a good filter for identifying not-okay actions that are justified by the perpetrators - sometimes me (a.k.a. the Silver Rule: "Don't do to unto others what you don't want to be done unto you")
My high school history teacher would share historical accounts and encourage us to analyze the authors motivations and biases.