errr. china does have cold provinces -- they could easily take over Siberia if Russian nukes weren't preventing that. Once the chinese figure out a way to incapacitate that, bye bye Mother Russia. The way I figure it, Russia as a state has existed only since after the Mongols invaded and left viz. in the 1500s. What is now Russia was for centuries just open steppe, free for the taking. This could not be invaded from the West -- both Napoleon and Hitler got defeated by Russian weather. But, it CAN be taken from the east -- the Huns and the Golden horde proved that. Actually, it's not only Russian nukes that prevent a chinese invasion -- the Asian powers are forming alliances to balance each other out -- China is in alliance with Pak and the islamicstates while Russia is in alliance with India and India is in alliance with Vietnam, Iran and Israel
Besides remember when they thought Japan would buy the US in the 80's?? ha!