I would say the difference between the Soviets and modern China is that the Soviets thought they could not only live without us, but that they’d be better off. They may well have been right, but at any rate the thing that kept them from annihilating us was we could annihilate them right back. Early on they really wanted us to “go Soviet” but once that was off the board it was a 0 sum game that they ended up losing.
China built a massive manufacturing and trade empire. But you’ve gotta have someone to trade with for that to work. China wouldn’t wipe us off the map, given the option. They’d weaken us geopolitically. They’d weaken us economically. But they aren’t an existential threat just because they have no motive to see us destroyed, just diminished (if it helps them.)
So while China is more capable than the USSR ever was, by a long shot. They’ll mess around with the dollar, oil, everything else, but at least it’s somewhat predictable because it’s not for unhinged ideological reasons.