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.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing in June 2023, left, and then again in April 2024. Notice the difference in indoor plants from one meeting to the next. (Source photos by Reuters)
China's symbolism indicates that relations with U.S. are deteriorating further