China knows based on the US' response (or lack thereof) to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that the US won't move against a modern military (which Russia barely ev

China knows based on the US' response (or lack thereof) to Russia's invasion of Ukraine that the US won't move against a modern military (which Russia barely even qualifies as having.) The US was soundly defeated by cave-dwelling guerilla fighters at least twice. Getting their ass handed to them by one of the world's nascent superpowers would only be humiliating.