China’s Xi, Russia’s Putin, and India’s Modi all support the new global order

Xi Jinping has advocated for a new world order in a high-profile meeting with Modi of India and Putin of Russia.

At a summit with leaders from Russia and India on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping formally challenged the United States by promoting his vision for a new global security and economic order centered on the “Global South.”

Referring specifically to the tariff policies of the United States and President Donald Trump, Xi stated, “We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practice true multilateralism.” “We are at a new crossroads in global governance,” he continued.

Xi received more than 20 non-Western leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin. The event was supported by China and was given fresh impetus by the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin and Modi were seen shaking hands as they walked up to Xi, smiling and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with translators in a show of unity.

“It’s difficult to determine whether the scene was improvised or choreographed, but it doesn’t really matter,” Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of The China-Global South Project, stated. That experience proves that the U.S. president and his supporters were mistaken in their belief that they could use tariffs to subdue China, India, or Russia.

Modi and Putin rode together in the Russian leader’s armored Aurus vehicle to a bilateral meeting following the summit. Modi commented on X, “Talking with him is always insightful.” In Russian, Putin called Modi “Dear Mr Prime Minister, dear friend” during the meeting.

With Russia being the world’s second-largest exporter, China and India are the biggest consumers of Russian crude. For these purchases, the US has placed additional duties on India but not on China.

With China, Russia, and four Central Asian nations as founding members, the Beijing-based SCO was established more than 20 years ago as a regional security bloc and is little known outside of the region. In 2017, India joined.

In his “Global Governance Initiative,” the most recent Beijing framework designed to advance China’s leadership and challenge American-dominated international institutions founded following World War Two, Xi made no specific announcements. He also emphasized the SCO’s “mega-scale market” and economic prospects while arguing for more inclusive economic globalization in the face of Trump’s tariffs.