Whether your big warship is a traditional BB or a CG it's only as effective as its infrastructure allows. The Kirov class made for an effective (on paper) area denial platform because it could operate for long periods without replenishment thanks to its nuclear propulsion. It could move its anti-ship missiles wherever they were needed and keep them there for a long time. It had enough other weapons to defend itself while on station.
A Kirov-esque CG without nuclear propulsion is tied to its supply tail. It basically has to move from gas station to gas station or hold up in a port to act as a fleet-in-being. It's far less effective as a singular threat than a Kirov. So you have to build a battle group around it to be able to protect supply lines and keep from being cut off.
This basically limits such ships to prowl around China's nine dash line claims to harass unarmed shipping and smaller navies. That's a huge amount of money to spend to be a bully. If China wants to waste that kind of money that's fine. Russia only has 2 Kirovs left, big ships are very expensive and need a lot of support infrastructure.
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