And it continues to escalate:

China toughens language, warns Taiwan that independence 'means war'

"BEIJING (Reuters) - China toughened its language towards Taiwan on Thursday, warning after recent stepped up military activities near the island that “independence means war” and that their armed forces were taking action to respond to provocation and foreign interference."

It's clear that China has the upperhand right now. All the US has is firepower. That's it. China has a growing economy compared to a US economy in taters. China has a relatively positive international image right now compared to what Trump left us with. China has a growing number of countries moving towards it and away from the US. It obliterated Hong Kong as the world stood by and pretended not to notice. It's engaging in genocide, complete with concentration camps, forced sterilization and cultural indoctrination, and the world seems to think that's all just dandy.

In short, right now, China is on top of the world and the US has fallen so far from grace that it's begging to be taken seriously with it's sanctions and empty threats. The most it can do is sail an aircraft carrier through the strait now and then in the hopes that it will scare China, which is laughable.

And they're smart. They know how to play the media. When is the last time anything backfired on China? Tiananmen Square? That was probably it. Even that didn't do them much, if any, harm. As long as they're growing economically and can buy off any potential critics, they're safe to do whatever the hell they want.