First, and most fundamentally, China has not refrained from attacking Taiwan because it was waiting for the United States to set a precedent it could follow. Instead, China has not attacked Taiwan because it lacks confidence that it can succeed at an acceptable cost. The U.S. strikes on Venezuela do not change this dynamic.
Second, China understands that U.S. operations in Venezuela do not offer a model for its operations against Taiwan. The U.S. strikes have thus far been confined to removing Venezuela’s leader. China, however, aims to govern Taiwan indefinitely. To achieve that objective, it would almost surely seek to take out Taiwan’s entire political and military leadership as part of any full-scale attack. China would need to land hundreds of thousands of troops on the island, conquer cities, and impose martial law on twenty-three million people.
Third, while Trump’s actions may have violated international law, China does not believe international law applies to the case of Taiwan. It does not view Taiwan as a sovereign country and its leadership as the legitimate rulers of a country. Instead, Beijing insists that Taiwan is an internal affair, thus giving it nearly unlimited latitude to do what it pleases.