They’re not the only ones. USA, Russia, UAE, all flex their hard power to get what they want.
The US does a lot of soft power too. Actually they just have a lot of power. Hard power works well for Russia historically because they’re so mercenary about it and so aren’t a threat to anyone that can fight back (present miscalculation aside). China on the other hand bullies everyone all the time.
Like, they’ve pissed on us specifically plenty, and we’re a random secondary power on the other side of a hemisphere of ocean. There was no reason to do that.
The US does a lot of soft power too. Actually they just have a lot of power. Hard power works well for Russia historically because they’re so mercenary about it and so aren’t a threat to anyone that can fight back (present miscalculation aside). China on the other hand bullies everyone all the time.
Like, they’ve pissed on us specifically plenty, and we’re a random secondary power on the other side of a hemisphere of ocean. There was no reason to do that.