THE GUARDIAN: China seizes on opportunity for geopolitical realignment after India was hit with one of US’s harshest trade penalties
They stood together like old friends, heads thrown back in jovial laughter, clutching one another’s hands affectionately. Except this was no ordinary gathering of three men, but a meeting of three of the most powerful non-western leaders: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi.
The overt displays of intimacy were widely regarded by observers as a telling message of defiance aimed at their western counterparts, in particular Donald Trump, who just a few days earlier had slapped India with 50% import tariffs, among the harshest of the US president’s trade penalties.
“India likes other great powers to know that New Delhi has options,” said Christopher Clary, an associate professor of political science at University at Albany, State University of New York. “One advantage of being in lots of clubs is you can make high-profile entrances to those clubs if you’re upset with how things are going in other relationships.” » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi | Tuesday, September 2, 2025
