[Mick]

Four perhaps not-so-minor points:

1) Yes, Russia has 4,300 (or so) available nuclear weapons. China has over 400. I don't think Russia would launch against China

2) China has 10x the population of Russia, and 15x when you're talking about military age, fit-for-service people. 

3) I suspect China has the technological edge when it comes to advanced weaponry; drones, etc.

4) As bizarre as Putin's decision-making is, Xi Jinping has isolated himself from senior advisors. They've been removed, essentially. He's been absent from major international events for nearly a year and many critically important internal events. The Atlantic wrote about how Jinping has isolated China from the rest of the world last summer. If he acted precipitously, I wouldn't be surprised. It's worth a read.

China’s Self-Imposed Isolation - The Atlantic

[Mick]

Four perhaps not-so-minor points:

1) Yes, Russia has 4,300 (or so) available nuclear weapons. China has over 400. I don't think Russia would launch against China

2) China has 10x the population of Russia, and 15x when you're talking about military age, fit-for-service people. 

3) I suspect China has the technological edge when it comes to advanced weaponry; drones, etc.

4) As bizarre as Putin's decision-making is, Xi Jinping has isolated himself from senior advisors. They've been removed, essentially. He's been absent from major international events for nearly a year and many critically important internal events. The Atlantic wrote about how Jinping has isolated China from the rest of the world last summer. If he acted precipitously, I wouldn't be surprised. It's worth a read.

China’s Self-Imposed Isolation - The Atlantic