If the U. S. pulls out of China economically, China would collapse in weeks.
It needs foreign money to be pumped in, via purchases.
I don’t think Europe could/would jump in fast enough to save the Chinese cash flow problems that would result.
I’m not convinced China doesn’t want to take us on militarily.
They’re not building their military might as fast as possible to let it sit around and not confront us.
Further, they are reaching out in Africa, the Middle-East, and South America.
In what way do you see anyone confronting China’s trade, if it simply kept to trade as their outreach?
China didn’t develop a military base on the islands in the South China Sea, to lead a simple defensive existence.
The South China Sea is China’s primary sea route to India and the Middle East, and from there to Europe.
Note that the U.S. has for many years boxed China in from going to the east, because of U.S. presence in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. The South China sea is China’s main trade route.
China is looking back on the Japanese experience before WWII, where the U.S. restricted Japanese access to oil and other resources.
The Chinese don’t want the U.S. to have the ability to do something similar to them, which is why it is trying to control and claim sovereignty over portions of the South China Sea to be able to prevent the U.S. from cutting off its trade route. Of course, once that is secure that could lead to other things we wouldn’t want, such as increased pressure by China to take control of Taiwan.