SCO Summit: President Xi Jinping of China invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin of Russia to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin. The picture of the three leaders together showed that world politics had changed. Modi’s trip to China was his first in seven years. He was trying to fix things between the two countries after tensions rose along the border. Xi called India a “development partner” and promised India billions of dollars in loans and aid to improve cooperation in the area.
A Warming of Relations Between China and India
The meeting also marked an effort to make things better between Beijing and New Delhi. Both sides decided to increase flights, speed up trade, and stop military standoffs from happening again. India needs to find a balance between its ties with China and its desire to keep its independence. Drawing India closer helps Xi make the SCO stronger as a counterweight to ties with the West.
Did Donald Trump Get It Wrong?
Instead of putting New Delhi on its own, the tariffs may have made India more like Beijing and Moscow. Through the Quad and Indo-Pacific initiatives, Washington spent a lot of time and money for years to build relations with India. Trump’s harsh tariff war undoes that progress and makes it easier for competitors to go after India more fiercely. Analysts say this could be seen as a very bad strategy move.
Backfire on strategy
Instead of putting New Delhi on its own, the tariffs may have made India more like Beijing and Moscow. Through the Quad and Indo-Pacific projects, Washington has been working for years to improve its relationship with India. Trump’s harsh tariff war undoes that progress and makes it easier for competitors to go after India more fiercely.
India’s Path to Multipolarity
It’s impossible to ignore the meaning of Modi standing with Xi and Putin. India has wanted strategic independence for a long time, but trade tensions with the U.S. could make it more likely for it to work with non-Western powers. Analysts say Trump made a mistake because his tariff policy could cause the U.S. to lose a key ally at a time when fighting China’s impact was a key part of its strategy.
