Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the “Global South”, in a direct challenge to the US, during a summit that included the leaders of Russia and India.
“We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practise true multilateralism,” Xi said, in a thinly veiled swipe at the US and President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
“Global governance has reached a new crossroads,” he added.
Xi was hosting more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin for the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a China-backed initiative given renewed impetus by the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In an image designed to convey a mood of solidarity, Putin and Modi were shown holding hands as they walked jovially towards Xi before the summit opened.
The three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder, laughing and surrounded by interpreters.
“It’s hard to tell if the scene was choreographed or improvised, but it doesn’t really matter,” wrote Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of The China-Global South Project, a research agency.
“If the US president and his acolytes thought they could use tariffs to pressure China, India, or Russia into submission, that (encounter) says otherwise.”
After the summit, Modi shared a ride with Putin in the Russian leader’s armoured Aurus limousine en route to their bilateral meeting.
“Conversations with him are always insightful,” Modi wrote on X. At the bilateral meeting, Putin addressed Modi in Russian as “Dear Mr Prime Minister, dear friend.”
China and India are the biggest buyers of crude oil from Russia, the world’s second largest exporter.
Trump has imposed additional tariffs on India over the purchases but not on China.
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