i wouldnt bet on that. china has working aircraft carriers after all. hell they got a never finished soviet carrier, finished it, launched it, gave it a useful life, and retired it to a training vehicle all while russias all but finished carrier is falling apart. in a conventional fight against the us theyd probably lose i wouldnt call them a paper tiger without more to back it up. afterall they got sheer numbers on their side if they want to go that route.