I must point out that while this argument would hold true if the subject were the United Kingdom, the United States, or Russia, China has absolutely zero allies or vassal states—the actual count is zero. You can look at the map of China and analyze it chronologically and geographically through a 360-degree clockwise sweep:
Mongolia: Relations with Mongolia are exceptionally poor. This stems from Chinese state propaganda historically framing Mongolia as an inherent part of its own territory that was severed due to the incompetence of the Nationalist Party (KMT) and Soviet intervention. In reality, Mongolia views China as the entity that broke away from the broader Mongol empire. Had it not been for the Russian Empire blocking their path prior to the October Revolution, Mongolia intended to incorporate China's entire northeast region and Inner Mongolia into its domain, viewing these areas as their ancestral lands.
North Korea: Skipping ahead to North Korea (leaving Russia for last), relations are incredibly cold. Following the 1978 power grab by the Chinese oligarchic elite to align with the United States, China launched a comprehensive propaganda campaign delegitimizing the Soviet bloc. North Korea was framed as a negative symbol of authoritarianism and pre-1978 domestic poverty—essentially used as a textbook warning to justify the legitimacy of China's current high-pressure state-capitalist regime. Furthermore, regarding North Korea's nuclear program, China enforced highly severe sanctions to appease the United States, whereas Russia merely observed sanctions superficially while covertly supplying oil, funding, and technology. Consequently, while North Korea might deploy troops if they were to initiate a war, if China itself were to be attacked, North Korea would absolutely not lift a finger—in fact, they would be thrilled.
South Korea: South Korea is effectively a vassal of the United States, and territorial disputes still persist between Beijing and Seoul.
Japan: This is a long and complex history. When early Chinese revolutionaries sought to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they relied heavily on Japanese support and promised to cede the three northeastern provinces to Japan (as those lands had historically belonged to the Manchus and Mongols for two millennia). However, once the revolutionaries succeeded, they reneged on the deal. Ultimately, Japan backed the deposed Manchu Emperor to re-establish governance in Northeast China (Manchukuo), leading to a total rupture during World War II. Following the 1978 power shift, the elite once again leveraged ties with Japan to secure vast amounts of technology and foreign investment, making Japan China's largest source of technical know-how and capital at the time. Yet, as soon as China gained sufficient geopolitical leverage, it cast Japan aside for a second time.
Taiwan: This goes without saying.
Southeast Asia: These nations can generally be grouped together. Following the founding of the PRC, surged national confidence led Beijing to draw sweeping maritime boundaries right up against the coastlines of neighboring nations, claiming them as sovereign territory. Culturally, over the centuries, the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia operated similarly to historical merchant minorities—utilizing sharp business practices to form massive ethnic cartels that controlled local economies. This left a highly negative impression of ethnic Chinese among local populations. Compounded by territorial disputes, this socio-economic friction historically culminated in mass anti-Chinese purges and massacres numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Vietnam: As a fellow socialist state, Vietnam received immense support from China during its inception and its war against the United States. However, that occurred during the Mao era. When the elite assumed power in 1978, they launched an invasion of Vietnam specifically to signal allegiance to the United States and secure entry into the Western-led global supply chain system. The conflict dragged on for years, finally concluding in the 2000s when new leadership officially ceded Bach Long Vi Island to Vietnam as de facto reparations. Nevertheless, bilateral relations were permanently fractured.
Myanmar and Laos: Prior to 1978, these nations served as primary launchpads for China to export communist revolution, ruining local state relations. Crucially, having committed to this geopolitical path, the regime failed to see it through. After 1978, the elite completely withdrew Chinese influence from both nations. For the families who had migrated or stayed to execute the revolution locally, the state invalidated their household registration (Hukou) and barred them from returning to China—principally because these individuals were highly loyal, orthodox ideological communists whose return would threaten the rule of the new capitalist-leaning elite.
印度及其周边邻国：我就不赘述了；您可能比我更了解它们。
苏联/俄罗斯：除了阿富汗和20世纪90年代崛起的中亚国家（这些无需赘述）之外，我们必须关注苏联。苏联对中国的崛起至关重要。无论是之前的国民党政府还是后来的共产党政权，都是苏联从零开始系统性地建立起来的。苏联驱逐了日本人和美国人，并将过去两三千年来从未属于中国的广袤领土划入中国的行政版图。与此同时，苏联还进行了前所未有的系统性制度改革，并移交了156项关键工业项目（涵盖从基础冶金和煤炭开采到核武器、导弹和航空等各个领域的蓝图——在缺乏蓝图的地方，苏联专家还会手把手地指导中国）。然而，接下来发生了什么？斯大林去世后，中国将自己定位为斯大林意识形态遗产的主要继承者，并积极挑战苏联在社会主义阵营中的领导地位。即便如此，斯大林的继任者赫鲁晓夫仍然对中国保持着高度支持。最终，1978年后，中国精英与美国结盟，迫使苏联解体。苏联解体后，由于担心失去国内政治控制权（因为他们仍然保留着“共产党”的名称），精英们利用国家媒体和宣传，将现代俄罗斯塑造成失败国家的典型代表，以此作为反面教材，以维护国内团结。
用一句话概括这段漫长的历史：中国没有一个追随者、一个依附者、一个盟友。
经济增长本质上需要贸易、原材料和畅通的市场。自然资源的确是中国的战略软肋。目前，中国80%的石油依赖进口——这一石油依赖率远高于二战前夕的日本帝国。
美国对伊朗采取的军事行动，对中国军事理论造成了巨大的战略和技术打击。如果美国航母打击群都难以有效投射力量并压制伊朗这样缺乏常规远洋海军的势力，那么中国又有什么切实可行的机制来强行突破马六甲海峡和第一岛链呢？
中国独一无二的战略机遇与台湾无关。摆脱地缘政治包围的唯一可行途径在于征服缅甸，从而获得直通印度洋的通道，同时坚定地依附于俄罗斯——确保莫斯科既不会出现内部崩溃，也不会转向西方。
事实上，无论中国最高领导人属于哪个派系，他们上任后的第一件事都是对莫斯科进行正式访问。他们非常清楚，与俄罗斯的关系直接关系到中国的命运和未来；至于台湾等问题，他们不过是说说而已。
这是因为俄罗斯拥有无限的自然资源；在与西方对抗的过程中，一旦中国的海上通道被切断，俄罗斯就是中国唯一可以依靠的生命线。
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