Chinese President Xi Jinping claimed on May 16 that he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin both agree that a “political solution” to the war in Ukraine is “the correct direction.” Speaking on May 16 at a press conference during Putin’s two-day visit to China, the pair put on a united front and cast themselves as partners opposed to a Western, U.S.-led world order. “Together, we are defending the principles of justice and a democratic world order reflecting multipolar realities and based on international law,” Putin said. Speaking of Russia’s full-scale invasion, both leaders referred to…