>>64219433
I think a big part of is internal issues in China. The CCP has a Leninist party structure, which is an authoritarian single-party system with very limited civil rights, no independent judiciary or press, and a military pointed squarely at its own citizens. Xi Jinping has also been (probably) freaked out for a long time that what happened in the USSR could happen in China. A lot of how the Chinese state views the world is a reaction to failure and collapse of the Soviet Union. These are inherently fragile systems, although they seem strong, because they need to reform otherwise they stagnate, but reform threatens to take on its own momentum and unleash centrifugal forces that undermine the party's control. China has been making various reforming for years (primarily in the economy), but Xi has jammed the control rods back in to tighten party control. It's like accordion that expands then tightens up again.

Then look at the history of China. It has repeatedly collapsed and broken up (sometimes for centuries at a time), and provinicial rivalries are fierce. China is not monolithic although the party tries to make it appear that way. China is also very, very, very VERY sensitive to any even slight suggestion that any part of the country could become not a part of the country. Even for humorous or ironic effect. Hmm. People who go to work for Chinese state media outlets will tell stories. Don't make direct comparisons between Zhejiang and Shanghai even though they're right next to each other. You could say that Zhejiang is an amazing place because it is right next to Shanghai which is also amazing. But don't you dare suggest that if Zhejiang was its own country, it would have the world's XXth largest economy. Even that is verging on separatism. I'm not even talking about Tibet or Xinjiang or other areas.