Why China would not sell Liaoning to Russia

What if China sold Liaoning to Russia, and how would Western states respond?

A sale is considered unlikely because China is expanding its own fleet and Russia has publicly argued that it does not need carriers.

A sale of Liaoning is considered unlikely while China is trying to enlarge its own carrier force. At the time of the discussion, the fleet is described as having two carriers in service and another on trials, against an ambition of six. Giving up one of those hulls would work against that expansion. Reports about a further carrier and its reactor are treated as incomplete evidence of construction, with no confirmation of a finished ship. Russia's public argument that it did not need carriers supplies a further reason to doubt the transaction. The question of a Western response consequently receives little attention.