How did the Ottoman Empire survive being between Europe and China for so long?

The Ottoman Empire is widely regarded as one of the greatest empires in history. It managed to outlast every other empire put between European powers and Asian powers, including the Tanguts, the Jurchen Jin, the Mongols, the Timurids, etc. The only other empire to have survived longer than the Ottomans was the Chinese Empire, but it’s been up and down throughout history. I can only see the empires between Europe and Asia as only being able to exist as a result of either superpower being too weak to conquer it. With the Ottomans, it seems like for most of the centuries they existed, both Europe and the Middle East/Central Asia were at similar levels of strength. Was it the geography, the politics, the timing? The Chinese Empire only survived because it was safe in the north, and it was able to project power onto the Mongols to weaken them enough to defeat them.<br><br>I can only see the Tanguts surviving for so long because the Song had to prioritize dealing with the Jurchen Jin over the west. The Mongols, on the other hand, survived as long as they did because of internal divisions in Europe, and the fact that the Chinese Empire was too weak to deal with them. The Timurids survived only as long as they did because the Ming were too weak militarily to project power that far out, and the Europeans were too weak politically to do so (the Timurids were also weakened from internal strife, and the Black Death). But the Ottomans somehow managed to exist despite the fact that both the Mamluks and the Mongols, the Italians and the HRE, the Safavids and the Tsardom were all at roughly equal or superior levels of strength than the Ottomans for a good portion of their history. They didn’t weaken until the 19th century, when nationalism overtook them, but before that, they consistently projected power across three continents despite facing strong enemies on every side.