The story so far: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the week in Tianjin, with a show of camaraderie with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on September 1. A photograph of the three leaders together made headlines around the world. It also seemingly irked U.S. President Donald Trump, prompting a series of sarcastic statements, even as the U.S. doubled down on 50% tariffs, sanctions on India’s import of Russian oil, and asking the European Union to do the same. By the end of the week, however, Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump appeared conciliatory.
What happened in Tianjin?
The week saw a series of high-level summits seen as a projection of power by China, beginning with the 10-nation SCO summit in Tianjin, where several other leaders including from Turkey, Nepal, Maldives, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Indonesia and Malaysia were invited. From there, the action moved to Beijing, where Mr. Xi led Mr. Putin and dozens of other leaders including North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to a massive military parade commemorating 80 years since the end of the Second World War. The statements released included a number of counter-West elements, with Mr. Xi promoting a “Global Governance Initiative” and Mr. Modi pitching for a “civilisational dialogue” between SCO countries. The SCO declaration criticised “coercive, unilateral” economic measures, believed to be aimed at U.S. tariffs and European sanctions. During a photo-shoot for the SCO meet, Prime Minister Modi was seen purposefully leading President Putin down the red carpet to where President Xi was standing. A day before that, Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi held bilateral talks that had been cordial and possibly paved the way for the tri-leader photo.
Editorial | Unmistakable shift: On SCO Summit and Indian foreign policy
What happened at the bilateral meeting?
This was Mr. Modi’s first visit to China since 2018, and his first meeting with President Xi not in a third country since the military standoff and Galwan clashes in 2020, where both sides agreed to normalise ties. China appeared conciliatory, with Mr. Xi referring to India and China as “partners not rivals”, while India appears to have climbed down from an insistence that the LAC situation be normalised before a resumption of ties in other spheres. They agreed to let the border situation be discussed between Special Representatives Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Besides revival of flights, visa facilitation and the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, they agreed to resolve the trade issues between them.
How did the U.S. view the meetings?
In Washington, the photograph of the Tianjin “troika”, as well as subsequent images of the leaders of Russia, China, North Korea, Central Asian states, Iran, Pakistan and others, were seen as a challenge to the Western order, as well as proof that India had now “switched sides”.
On social media, Mr. Trump posted a photo from the SCO summit saying that it looked like the U.S. had “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China”. The White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro, seen as one of the officials driving tariffs against India, said it was a “shame” that India as a democracy was getting closer to Russia and China. There were a number of other comments criticising the Modi government, including calling the Ukraine conflict “Modi’s war”, which the Ministry of External Affairs rejected as “inaccurate and misleading”. India will also participate in a BRICS online summit chaired by Brazil on September 8 to discuss a common response to the U.S. tariffs, which may send up more red flags.
Delhi-Washington ties have been fraught over many issues, including visa, immigration and trade policies, and Mr. Trump’s repeated assertions of mediating the ceasefire in Operation Sindoor. But amid the tension, came yet another turnaround. Mr. Trump on Friday said that India and the U.S. have a “special relationship” and that he would “always be great friends with PM Modi”. Mr. Modi, who had not responded to any of the statements thus far, welcomed them and said he shared Mr. Trump’s “positive assessment” of the partnership.
Modi, Xi, Putin get closer | Photo-op, or warning to the West?
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| Video Credit:
Suhasini Haidar, Kanishkaa Balachandran, Vishnoo Jotshi
What lies ahead?
While many foreign policy observers may have faced whiplash from the perception that Indian policy had shifted from the “west to the east” and possibly back to the west, the shifts are less perceptible if you consider India’s decades-old policy of strategic autonomy and balance. The visit to China for the SCO had been expected for months, after the Xi-Modi meeting in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in October 2024 had restarted ties. While India had put SCO on the backburner for the past two years and PM Modi skipped the Summit in Astana last year, the visit to China was considered important. In that sense, the Modi-Xi meeting was simply an attempt to normalise ties after years of serious tensions, and the Modi-Xi-Putin chat, would have been more significant if followed by a revival of formal Russia-India-China talks.
India-U.S. relations have no doubt been impacted by months of tensions on a range of issues, but official exchanges and military exercises have not stopped. Much will depend on whether the U.S. and India can find a compromise over demands to cancel Russian oil imports or for India to open its agricultural and dairy sectors, and whether the U.S. reconsiders its 50% tariff on India. With Mr. Jaishankar headed to the U.S. for the UN General Assembly this month, talks about scheduling the Quad summit, where Mr. Trump is due to visit India later this year, will be closely watched.
Published – September 07, 2025 02:43 am IST
