Priorities
Russia needs the rest of the world for investment and trade (including food), China doesn't China's priorities have always been with the Middle Kingdom, which is why it has such sophisticated social and electronic controls within the country. By and large it doesn't care about international public opinion except when it reflects back to China: invite the Dalai Lama officially and you can expect a response designed to stoke Han nationalism in China. When it wants favourable legislation, it just gets the cheque book out, which Russia can't do to same scale: compare energy deals in Eastern Europe with the "belt and road" initiative.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
