>>12394524Might happen in distant future ( like 200 years+, maybe as long as 1000 years+ ).
For the sake of the thought experiment assume the following are true:
1) Earth is facing environmental catastrophe, impacting food supply and political stability. Time line bracket: 100 years.
2) Currently only 3 major players worth mentioning in the industrial base and technology stakes. USA, Europe, China.
The USA and Europe are incapable of sustaining technological innovation since their social cohesion, education and industrial base is being eroded by 3rd world immigration and unpractical social policies, a process which is set to accelerate as environmental conditions around the world worsen. At best the USA will balkanize, at worse become another Brazil. Europe is effectively already balkanized and is set to become yet another stagnant shithole.
That leaves China. Although its shortcomings include lack of innovation, on the plus side China values education and technological progress. In this respect China can be thought of as slow and steady wins. China has considerable advantages over the west in terms of social cohesion and political pragmatism.
Providing China can address the environment issues on a global scale it is set to become the only world super power. When it achieves complete hegemony it will virtually have a free hand to do whatever it likes without opposition. With this is the potential to avert environmental catastrophe. Furthermore China will also then have a improved financial surplus by not needing a powerful military anymore. Under those circumstances it is easy to imagine China collating a fair percentage of existing world resources ( including human resources as well as physical ) to devote solely to a centuries long sustained space program. That might indeed take centuries, but providing everyone doesn't die in wet bulb temperatures or starve to death due to food chain collapse, then they can take as long as they like.
