[quote=Pepperm1nts]
Pretty much that. I like Ferdinand's ideas and would like to have him convince Franz to go in that direction.
[/quote]
I can see that going extremely well as a sort of proto-European Union in Eastern Europe, especially if you assert hegemony over the Balkans and defeat Russia in the First World War.

As for myself, I'm most likely going for Beiyang China or some other pseudo-fascist, pro-military state led by Yuan Shikai who (hopefully) doesn't declare himself Emperor and destroy the fledgling Republic. I think the collapse of the Qing Empire is inevitable, so it's mostly a matter of deciding who or what replaces it.

A United States of China would be cool, but I don't think something like that is realistic at this point.