The optimal situation for China is for all its enemy neighbors to enter internal political deadlock. This makes the pawns useless for USA.
We saw how platform 981 paralyzed Vietnam internal politics. Now they are facing a full blown colored revolution. Ha ha. Good situation for China.
We saw how North Korea is very unstable now with a leadership crisis. They tried to turn against China and failed. Ha ha. Good situation for China.
We saw how Philippines is rendered helpless like a baby so they
stopped all construction work in the South China Sea. Ha ha. Good situation for China.
The next step is to do the same to India. Modi promised to Obama that India will make trouble for China in the South China Sea. This is the forward policy China has been waiting for as an excuse to launch a massive counterattack. Another humiliating military adventure for Modi (after Chumar defeat) means the Congress returns to power.
Japan is going down this path too because their economy is going sour. Their demographics make them economically uncompetitive. An adventure to confront China over Diaoyu Islands ended in embarassment. Now with J-10B in service Japan's window of opportunity closed. With Abe discredited soon Japan's PM will be a revolving door position again.
With the periphery temporarily secured, then China can focus its efforts on purging seditious elements in Hong Kong (in the near term before 2017) and on a military invasion of Taiwan (in the middle term before 2022). Only with Taiwan secured can China render itself impervious to an intended blockade of Malacca Straits by US Navy. It all ends with China at the center of a massive trade network spanning from East Asia to Russia including all countries not openly hostile to China -- the Celestial Empire.
Our primary weapon to create internal political deadlock is PLA spanking. They all tasted it. They all know what it tastes like. Enough spanking and they realize confrontation is too costly. Like taming an animal.
So the pattern is: economic strength --> military advantage --> political influence --> economic strength of superpower proportions