Let me just add this.
PLA, or the whole people of China, need to change mindset.
Repeat after me, CHANGE MINDSET.
You really need to get out of the mentality of two-centrary humiliation, the mentality of victimhood. You are recognized by all but a few, a full-fledged superpower, and that includes, developed European countries. You can stand a full scale trade war against America, victorious. If you can't take care of yourself and defend your interests, nobody can.
You need to defend your honor. because there are countries across this world look up to you, expect you to stand up to the bully.
You need to ditch the loser mentality wherever your interests are in. You need to have the mindset of the "stronger". Han dynasty and Tang dynasty had this mindset. Song just doesn't. Ming, yes in the first half.
Mao restored this mindset with Korean War. Deng significantly weakened it with his economic "reform", where everything is counted by the money. To this day, you are still felling into this trap and couldn't get out of it, thus not able to think properly. Your body has grown into an adult, but your mind and behavior is still teenager.
There is a benefit of claiming "developing" status, but that benefit is deminishing quickly. I expect that to change soon.
So, stop burying inside great firewall and middle kingdom, thinking everything is gonna be ok.
You claim soft power doesn't exist and China's image doesn't matter. Yet at the same time you fight for the perception of win or lose. This doesn't make any sense.
You are a full fledged economic and military superpower, but your soft power are soringly lagging behind. And you tell me you don't care?
Take a look at the status of overseas Chinese. Social-econimocally, they are doing relatively well. But politically, they are at the bottom of the ladder, where every other race can take advantage of. Even politicians of your own race don't fight for you. Because they, just as you, have same loser, weaker mentality. I got to ask, is everything just about money?
Now, 5 eyes are pushing the Xinjiang narrative. And what your government has been doing? They behave like "this is none of your business". You have to do better than that.
As a superpower, you need to have the capability to control the narrative . And you are not even trying.
A duly elected government can be toppled by just a narrative. That's soft power. That's how mighty soviet union fell. They lost the narrative.