The other thing China is doing is running around on a diplomatic front to line up support on two fronts:

1. Isolate the US
2. See who will be most against their moves towards Taiwan

(1) is another thread for another day. But how's their charm offensive going? It worked pretty well on Macron.

foxnews.com - World regions

foxnews.com - China says hopes believes germany will support peaceful reunification taiwan

Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, made the comments in a statement shared by the Chinese foreign ministry on Saturday, stating that he "hopes and believes" the European country will support its "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan.

During a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in China, Wang said that China once supported the reunification of Germany.

"To maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, it is necessary to firmly oppose separatist activities related to 'Taiwan independence'," Wang said.

Because they're totally the same thing, you know. To his credit, the German foreign minister said
Baerbock said on Friday that any attempt from China to gain control of Taiwan would come with serious repercussions for Europe.

"A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait, through which ... 50% of world trade goes every day, would be a horror scenario for the entire world," said Baerbock.

...which brings me back to the point about trade routes and how China views the upcoming conflict: Once the fur flies in the straits of Taiwan, it won't do to have the world's economy reorient itself around alternative routes.

Ergo the Chinese have been working on getting strategic control of assets like the Panama Canal for decades and are more recently siting their naval assets nearby...just in case.