China and Russia are looking to cause pain in order to get leadership in Washington DC to finally realize that the unipolar moment is over and ended two Presidents ago. These moves are to try to get Washington to get back to actual diplomacy and are highly unlikely to cause any further escalation. The media and partisans will frame it as the end of the world though.
The fact of the matter is that the rest of the world is already operating under a Great Powers paradigm again while the United States is clinging for a rope that isn't even there anymore. And it isn't exactly difficult to get back on track. If the United States starts operating more as a equitable or pragmatic partner in a geopolitical sense, it diminishes the need for other large countries to hold a more aggressive stance.
Putting Biden/the managerial class back into power is a major problem for everyone. At least with Trump you had a willingness to adjust to new ideas and to try new things. With the deep state back in power it's going to be more of the same American arrogance on the world's stage.
And for what it is worth, it wasn't arrogant of Trump to ask Europe to pay what they agreed to. That is just being pragmatic.