I was with you until "they should be looking east".
No, we shouldn't. We should be looking to strengthen Europe. If anywhere, we should be looking south, to the decent countries that do exist in South America and Africa. Despite all the issues with the US you point out (that I largely agree with), they're still a quasi-democracy, that doesn't regularly disappear dissidents or wipe out ethnic groups. They've shown that they're volatile and untrustworthy, that doesn't make China or russia a better alternative.