Maybe PLA was not amused by the sarcastic cartoon caricatures. Just as a note, they applied to everyone, American generals act dumb and gungho, GLA and PLA acting like your typical movie stereotype evil masterminds.
The plot lets you play PLA, then GLA and then USA in alternative fashion, with USA and PLA having alliance to defeat GLA. Along the way, there is liberal use of WMD, nuclear weapons, death ray beam weapons, suicide bombing. In China campaign alone, you undertake seriously overhanded measures like destroying the Hong Kong convention center which is hijacked by the GLA. In destroying the convention center, you not only destroy the GLA but also the hundreds of hostages. Later you go blow up the Three Gorges dam in order to preempt a GLA strike force. The story end is quite favorable to China though. At the end of Zero Hour, USA retreats into isolationism, China defeats the GLA and becomes the world's new global cop. Despite the game being launched in the Age of the War on Terror, the theme certainly doesn't pull punches in terms of suggestive prophecy.
There is another old game called Force 21 by Red Storm Entertainment, which is Tom Clancy's company. It was made long ago, so the forces are not up to date. It's a 3D tactical game and a lot more serious. The game lets you play both China and US side. The scenario has China storm rolling all over Eurasia right to the Caspian sea, with NATO opposing it. The game is an attempt in serious tactical simulation, but has poor controls and unit management so it failed.
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