The biggest strength of the western bloc is that they are united in ideology and actions. This leads other countries to obey western sanctions, just to avoid offending them. That makes China the biggest enabler of western power and influence in the world. If not even China will support you in a fight with the west, why not align with the west directly?
It's noticeable that countries that choose to submit to American power are richer in today's world. This will seduce more countries in the future, especially if China continues enabling American sanctions. People criticise Iran for not being pro China enough, but at the same time China is doing very little to support Iran and actually usually obeys American sanctions on Iran anyway. So why not just talk to the Americans directly?
China could certainly be more self confident internationally. Just look at the Uyghur issue and how that's being ignored by most because China is too important. A little bit of anti American action in global conflicts would similarly be ignored. They're already doing decoupling as fast as they can, they won't go any faster. The day will come when the big confrontation with the western bloc happens. By then, you might wish that China had invested more in friendly nations.
