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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/02/putin-xi-modi-meet-message-to-west-trump-tariffs>
"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.”
This was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years and the hostilities that
had come to define the countries’ relationship in recent years were nowhere to
be seen. Instead, as the Indian prime minister arrived in China for the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, he received a far more effusive
welcome from the Chinese premier than most guests were granted.
The leaders’ brotherly encounter in the city of Tianjin did not go unnoticed in
the Oval Office. Hours after the meeting, Trump went on another tirade against
India, calling trade with the country a “one-sided disaster”, while his trade
adviser Peter Navarro said in a social media post: “It is a shame to see Modi
getting in bed with Xi Jinping and Putin. I’m not sure what he’s thinking.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
