And another way to try to manage the risk of Russian rapprochement with the West is to, besides state-to-state relations, try to build more positive people-to-people relations and make soft power inroads into Russia. As some have stated, many individual Russians still feel closer cultural ties to Europe and some may view Chinese with suspicion. Russians still consume large amounts of Western media and pop culture. You want Russians to be reminded of Napoleon, the Crimean War, WW1, and WW2, not Genghis Khan.
Maybe Covid? They got hit pretty hard early on. Or perhaps closer Sino-Saudi ties? Also looks like Iranians have extremely negative view towards their own government, so good Sino-Iranian relations may end up being a negative rather than a positive. India and Vietnam are pleasant surprises.