When Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, the images travelled fast. In Washington, the optics were interpreted less as routine diplomacy and more as a deliberate message.
The pictures ricocheted across Western media. CNN political commentator Van Jones called it an image that “should send a chill down the spine of every American,” describing the 'tableau' of Xi, Putin, Modi, and other leaders like Iran’s president and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as a 'new world order' where the West finds itself increasingly boxed in. “It was the United States and China together and Russia by itself. Now we’re on the bad end of the triangle. It’s everybody against us. That is not good for America,” he told viewers.
The New York Times put it bluntly: “The tableau carried multiple messages. 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.”
Business press saw a message for Trump
The Wall Street Journal cast the optics as a “display of unity seen as a message to Trump.” The three leaders’ choreography, it argued, showed how Washington’s attempt to isolate Beijing and Moscow is being undercut. Bloomberg pushed the 'new world order' framing further, with columnists suggesting that 'leaders are sick of Trump' and looking at alternative power blocs.
For their business readership, both outlets emphasised that tariffs and economic coercion were backfiring, nudging India closer to Beijing and Moscow.
The wire services tied it to tariffs
The Associated Press maintained the focus on deliverables, reporting that Modi and Putin had “affirmed their special relationship” at a time when India was facing US pressure over Russian oil imports. AP also flagged Xi’s announcement of a new development bank initiative and an international energy platform under the SCO as a challenge to US-led institutions.
Reuters was sharper, writing that “Washington’s tariff war has chilled ties with New Delhi,” prompting Modi to warm to Xi and Putin.
Beltway and conservative spin
The Washington Post took a different angle, using the SCO summit to spotlight divisions within Trump’s own team over how to handle India. Some in Washington see Delhi as indispensable to counter China, others treat it as transactional. Modi’s huddle with Xi and Putin, the Post implied, only sharpens that debate.
On the conservative side, Fox News framed the camaraderie as Modi 'cozying up' with Xi and Putin in a rebuke to Trump’s 'bullying.' Axios, the quick-read digital outlet, highlighted the hand-holding photo and called it the week’s defining image.
Misri’s carefully chosen words
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri provided the phrase that most US outlets picked up. In his Tianjin briefing, he said Modi and Xi agreed that “India and China are partners, not rivals.”
ABC News carried that line to show a thaw in tone, while also underlining that border issues remain unresolved. The Washington Post, on the other hand, placed Misri’s remark in a bigger story about splits inside the Trump administration on how to handle India.
The rehashed angle: why the photos struck a nerve
The photos weren’t just about SCO diplomacy. They coincided with a Beijing parade marking 80 years since Japan’s World War II surrender, where Xi, Putin, and Kim Jong Un stood together as military hardware rolled past. Xi told the crowd that the world must “never return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak,” as reported by the BBC.
The images of Modi clasping Putin’s hand and laughing, while Xi stood measured but smiling, fed into US fears of what the Washington Post dubbed an 'axis of upheaval,' Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia, now appearing in the same frame with India.
Even Trump couldn’t resist a jab. On Truth Social, he wrote: “May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America.”
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