US President Donald Trump has acknowledged Kyiv’s readiness for a “deal” to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but it takes two to tango. He is now signaling to China, urging joint efforts to persuade Vladimir Putin to reach a peaceful resolution.

Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping share a broad world view, which portrays the West as decadent and in decline as China challenges U.S. supremacy in many areas.