The fox borrows the tiger's might
Refers to using powerful connections to intimidate or oppress people
Negative
小狗看到主人在身边，马上狐假虎威地对大狗叫起来 | Xiǎo gǒu kàn dào zhǔrén zài shēnbiān, mǎshàng hújiǎhǔwēi dì duì dà gǒu jiào qǐlái
When the pup saw his master by his side, he immediately seized the advantage and started barking at the larger dog
[Source]
他只是董事长身边的司机，却常狐假虎威地发号施令 | Tā zhǐshì dǒngshì zhǎng shēnbiān de sījī, què cháng hújiǎhǔwēi de fāhàoshīlìng
He's just the driver for the company's chairman, but he takes advantage of the chairman's authority to order people around
[Source]
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《战国策》(Zhàn Gúo Cè, Strategies of the Warring States), a work which chronicled the Warring States Period (475 - 220 BC)
One day, a fox was hunting for breakfast when he stumbled across a tiger — the beast that terrified all woodland creatures alike. He immediately tried to flee, but within a heartbeat, the tiger saw him, pounced, and managed to pin him down. The fox, seeing the tiger prepare to swallow him in one large gulp, said quickly, "Would you really dare to eat me? The heavens sent me down here to supervise all wild creatures, and if you eat me, they would be furious."
The tiger, who regarded himself the king of the forest, bared his teeth and let out an angry snarl. Seeing this less-than-stellar reaction, the fox hurriedly added, "If you don't believe me, let me go and walk behind me for a bit. You'll see that the minute other animals see me, they'll run for their lives."
With the fox's confident words and bearing, the tiger couldn't help but begin to believe his words, so he let him go and decided to see for himself whether what he said was true. And so, they started to walk, with the tiger making a point to stay as close to the fox as possible so he could catch him if he tried to flee. When other woodland creatures, whether they were small as rabbits or large as deer, caught sight of the fox strutting around confidently with the tiger close behind him, they grew scared out of their wits and promptly ran for their lives.
This happened frequently enough that the tiger came to the conclusion that the other forest animals were genuinely terrified of the fox. He started to fear that the fox might do something to him, and so he too quickly fled from the fox's side.