One could be cynical, and observe that US business interests have the world's largest, most agressive and equipped intelligence and military force protecting it

One could be cynical, and observe that US business interests have the world's largest, most agressive and equipped intelligence and military force protecting its interests - it can be an outlier just as long as a robber baron can... Or one could be even more cynical, and observe that China appears to be pouring "hard" power behind decades of "soft" power build-up...