Quote Originally Posted by cocco
My point exactly, I don't think they're a potential customer at least as long as Putin is on power.
I'd probably be inclined to agree here, though with less confidence you have. It depends if Germany are able to source alternatives, and what the economic costs of the alternatives are.

The relationship with China is already at "it's complicated", China wants to have a trade relationship with the EU, where the Ukraine war is seen as detrimental, but their goals are aligned with Russia to challenge US's geopolitical position. They've been trying to remain neutral but are more and more openly speaking against the war. I wouldn't be surprised if Russia will try to initiate peace negotiations now after the annexations.
I think this is an accurate analysis. China wants geopolitical balance and sees Russia as an ally in this regard, but they also don't want to burn bridges with USA and the West. China's expansionist ambitions are limited to historical territory claims, and their military posturing revolves around securing their trade routes. While problematic for the West, it's tolerable so long as they don't invade Taiwan. The economic relationship between the West and China is too beneficial for all parties.

But at the same time, China won't be bullied, and if they want to buy Russian gas, they won't be told by USA that they can't. China is very energy hungry, so they will continue to play both sides to their advantage until that position becomes untenable. When that happens, I suspect it's Russia that suffers, not the West, but time will tell.