Russia feels they never lost on their own territory. They stopped Napoleon and Hitler. They are sure that they would win any war, and indeed never felt they lost the cold war, at least as Russians.

China however lost multiple time (in history) against "inferior", cruel or "dumb" enemies because of internal unrest. Those lost caused part of their territory to be under the rule of foreigners for multiple years, decades even in some cases.

Nationalism worked great for liberalism in the 18th century, but now it seems it became a tool for any government.