That's how nearly everything works. If people don't think action is in their best interest they don't act. And you can substitute any country for China - although if anythign the Chinese have been unusually competent compared to everyone else. the US has been adopting a foreign policy with a deliberateness of action that could be likened to someone having a seizure.

I expect the Chinese will do something wildly stupid at some point, but they've been behaving quite responsibly so far.