I agree about China's partners. Russia may have some legacy technology to contribute, the others are lightweights. That aspect of the program is mainly about politics.

The Chinese space program however looks serious enough. Some recent press:

https://thediplomat.com/2023/10/long-march-9-rocket-will-be-...

https://www.space.com/china-names-spacecraft-astronaut-moon-...

https://spacenews.com/china-to-debut-large-reusable-rockets-...