It was a scene in eastern China almost certainly intended for an audience on the other side of the world: The leaders of China, Russia and India, the three largest powers not aligned with the West, smiling and laughing like good friends as they greeted each other at a summit on Monday.
It starts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia holding hands and walking into a meeting hall filled with other world leaders. They head straight for President Xi Jinping of China, shake hands and form a close circle. A few words are exchanged before translators join the huddle. Mr. Putin cracks a broad smile, and Mr. Modi lets out a big laugh. At one point, Mr. Modi joins hands with the other leaders.
The tableau carried multiple messages, analysts said. The bonhomie between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin was meant to convey a close bond between them as leaders of an alternative world order challenging the United States. Mr. Modi sought to show that India has other important friends — including China, regardless of an unresolved border dispute — if the Trump administration chooses to continue alienating New Delhi with tariffs.
“Optics is a key part of this summit, and the White House should grasp that its policies will result in other countries looking for alternatives to meet their interests,” said Manoj Kewalramani, head of Indo-Pacific studies at the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, India.
That imagery in the city of Tianjin, where more than 20 leaders from mostly Central Asia and South Asia gathered, showed how the geopolitical disruption caused by Mr. Trump has given China and Russia a platform to rally partners such as Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Pakistan.
China wants to seize on the unpopularity of America’s chaotic trade policies to drive a wedge between Washington and the rest of the world, arguing that it can serve as a more stable global leader.
Mr. Xi, in his opening speech at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Eurasian security grouping, took not-so-subtle jabs at the United States, urging members of the group to oppose a “Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and bullying.” He said the organization must “forge ahead” amid “global upheaval.”
Mr. Modi, for his part, appeared to be converging on the same message, speaking of “promoting multilateralism and an inclusive world order” — in other words, a system in which countries like India had a greater say in global affairs.
The three-way hand-holding between Mr. Modi, Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi was nothing short of the smiling manifestation of a troika that Moscow had recently said it hoped to revive. In another demonstration of closeness soon after, Mr. Modi shared a car with Mr. Putin as they rode together to a meeting on the sidelines of the summit.
“Conversations with him are always insightful,” Mr. Modi wrote on his social media account, where he shared a photo of the ride. According to Russian state media, Mr. Modi decided at the last minute to join Mr. Putin in his Russian limousine for the ride to the hotel where they were to meet. Upon arriving at the venue, they spent 50 minutes talking in the car before the official meeting began.
In the past, India’s risk-averse bureaucracy would have taken pains to avoid such overt displays of warmth with China and Russia — the secret to expanding ties with Washington while keeping a seat at forums led by the other major powers. But Mr. Trump’s barrage of tariffs on India, now at 50 percent after penalizing India for buying Russian oil, has left little incentive for India to do so.
This time, Mr. Modi even splashed the visuals on his social media accounts shortly after the meeting opened, showing how far, and how suddenly, that juggling act has been upended. Later, Mr. Modi was even more effusive at the meeting, telling Mr. Putin that “1.4 billion Indians are waiting with excitement” to welcome him in New Delhi in December.
“It is a testament of the depth and breadth of our ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ that even in the most difficult times India and Russia have stood shoulder to shoulder,” Mr. Modi told Mr. Putin.
The summit, which ends Monday, is the first part of a diplomatic showcase that Mr. Xi has lined up this week. In the lead-up to this meeting, he has held talks with many of the visiting leaders, including Mr. Modi, during which he said that the two countries should see each other as partners and not rivals.
He is also expected to hold talks with Mr. Putin. But the biggest highlight is a military parade in Beijing on Wednesday aimed at commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, to be attended by Mr. Putin and Kim Jong-un, the North Korean dictator. Mr. Xi has tried to recast China’s role in the war to burnish the Communist Party’s image and buttress its claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea, scholars have said.
In one sign of how China is using the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to serve its interests, Mr. Xi in his speech on Monday called on countries to “promote a correct understanding of World War II history.”
“Xi Jinping clearly wants to challenge the post-World War II global order dominated by the United States and show that China is a reliable and legitimate alternative,” said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
The public show of unity between the three leaders masked deep suspicions and conflicting interests.
China and India remain locked in mistrust over their disputed border; Beijing says that the issue should not define the overall relationship between the two countries. But India would like a resolution to the dispute, and Mr. Modi is also wary that his earlier courting of Mr. Xi had backfired by causing him embarrassment.
Despite the warm ties with Moscow, India cannot expect to replace Western economic support with Russia, a country hit badly by sanctions because of its invasion of Ukraine.
As for China, though it projects especially close ties with Russia at the moment, it has been looking warily at Moscow’s growing influence over North Korea.
“Optics do little to alleviate the fault lines that exist in the troika of India, China and Russia,” said Mr. Kewalramani.
Anton Troianovski contributed reporting from Berlin.
David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.
Mujib Mashal is the South Asia bureau chief for The Times, helping to lead coverage of India and the diverse region around it, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.
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