The message coming out of China is getting louder by the day. It doesn’t like other countries, especially Australia, ganging up and meddling in its affairs. As we know Beijing is currently doing its best to punish us economically, but in the last few days President Xi Jinping has also ratcheted up the rhetoric by warning of the perils of a new cold war. A loose translation is if we don’t stop poking the panda, we’ll face serious consequences. Now it’s worth taking the threat seriously because Xi controls the largest military force in the world, and as one of his supporters cautions tonight, the cost of conflict with China could be Armageddon.