Putin has shown that he is not afraid of confrontation. Annexing crimea and sending troops to syria are good examples. Putin made Russia unpredictable, and unpredictable power with nuclear arms are terrifying.

China on the other hand, still restraint itself in the face of provocation despite the wolf warrior diplomacy. The Singaporean diplomat, Kishore Mahbubani, once said that for soft power to work, it has to be built upon the hard power foundation. For long time, China is focusing on building soft power. But without hard power, all those soft power couldn't attract anyone and can't give China any respect it deserved. I'm not saying that China should replicate the Russians completely. But showing off some of your hardpower won't hurt. There should be something in between disruptive power and compliance to world order. Xi Jinping made the world know that China's peaceful rise shouldn't be taken for granted.