It's kind of puzzling regarding the Chinese plans for the South China Sea. They are antagonizing many of their neighbors there that are normally friendly or neutral to them in most respects. If China persists in making these territorial claims in the South China Sea, how will they enforce it? They don't have any safe harbors in the area for their Navy to go to in case of a war, while the US has bases and allies throughout the region. As far as I can tell, the Chinese government usually acts family pragmatic with regards to it's foreign policy, though I'll admit that Xi does seem to be a different type of leader than their previous premiers.