I think it is a recognition that they aren't much of a fighting military like the USA and bit of posturing.
It sounds like Xi Jinping is a compromise leader and the stories circle around that he is having to try and garner support from all areas of importance.
The 7 (down from 9) top PRC leaders are like a corporate group where no one can just run off and do their own thing like a dictator.
But the vast difference between the USA and China is this. China is very clear that they must keep delivering economic progress at home and gobbling up resource deals all around the world. The next 5 to 10 years will not be as easy as the past decade was and already lots of complaining in China about the last Premier Wen Jiabao not doing enough to ready China for the economy and the loss of low paid manufacturing jobs to the west of the PRC and the need to grow the domestic economy. Story after story is suggesting things like Wen squandered the opportunities in the last decade abound.
China by disposition and current reality could not engage in foreign wars like the USA has done in Iraq and now with the Afghans when their needs are so vast and their people hardly about to see their youth being slaughtered overseas while they aren't doing well at home.
Secondly the US has fought wars from home - China's issues here would risk war on its soil and the PRC leadership aren't dumb.
They are focused on the economic ball.