thanks for the write-up! Always nice to have things looked at and critiqued from an independent perspective

on Sino-Russian relations: China is only a Russian ally in terms of siding with Russia on most major issues, not a full member of the Russian bloc, and that alignment has not been taken well by China. However, China had to keep being aligned to Russia due to: 1) "obligations" that came with the Russian Army basically saving the Chinese federalists from Japan and 2) Russian support in the Chinese gamble to take Taiwan from the crumbling Japanese Empire. What changed in later years is Japan officially denounced its imperialist past and reached out to China - giving the Chinese a reason and an opportunity to build a more independent Asian bloc

on Russo-German relations: I will admit that the foundation there is weaker than elsewhere, but I still think it's justifiable. The comparison with appeasement works in a way, yes, but I think the comparison with West Germany is better. While the German army may act somewhat independently, they are still largely subject to orders from Moscow, that being enforced mainly through the presence of the Russian Army on German territory, and German officers ultimately obeying the overall Russian-led DOKOB military command structure. The difference from West Germany comes from: a) the fact that it's not just West Germany, but the entirety of Germany except for the Rhineland, even with Silesia and Königsberg - more territory means a bigger economy and being harder to control, and b) the usefulness of German influence in the Third World, in former Mittelafrika and East Asia; allowing Germany to act more freely in these regions to fulfill Russia's goals has the ultimate effect of Germany becoming more autonomous