Analysis: Xi and Putin share a trait -- they cannot show weakness
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.
Right before the Chinese New Year holiday period earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping rang up his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.