Iran does it, but US also does a tonne of proxy war as well. The US's favourite tactic overseas is destabilise by funding the opposition. China's is offer loans to crippled dictators in exchange for military amd economic beneficial agreement. Iran's is also destabilisation (Soleimani was very fond of this) by funding their Islamic allies, considered terrorists by the US.

Pretty much anyone who chose destabilisation devastared that country, because all they did was destroy the system (Libya, Iraq, Lebanon) without something else to replace it with.

We also have to be careful of abusing Sanctions as a weapon of war because it's it relies on the US being a superpower and having alliance. African countries are alliancing with China now because they don't know if their dictator will be replaced by US next. There'll be a time when the voice of Sanction may flip to China's interest, rather than the US.