World's Leading Figures Call for India-China Friendship in Turbulent Global Scenario: Exploring How U.S. Tariffs May Be Driving Rivals Toward Collaboration Amidst International Instability
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, played host to a significant meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This encounter marked a tentative step towards easing the decades-long tensions between the two nations.
The United States has long positioned India as a democratic counterweight to China's growing influence. With a population of 2.8 billion people at stake, Modi underscored the importance of cooperation between the two Asian giants.
The SCO gathering brought together more than 20 countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and several Central Asian nations. However, deep undercurrents of mistrust still define several relationships within the group, particularly between India and China. Along their 2,100-mile Line of Actual Control, both armies continue to maintain a tense military presence.
Despite the historical strategic rivalry, Xi extended a warm welcome to Modi, expressing a vision where India and China are not rivals, but neighbours and partners. Xi also spoke of a vision where the two nations could coexist peacefully, without competition.
Modi acknowledged the fragile progress in easing tensions along the contested Himalayan border. He emphasized that trust and respect must guide the relationship, and that differences between the two sides should not escalate into disputes.
The meeting occurred in a climate shaped by global unease, including increasing tariffs imposed by the United States and international scrutiny for continued trade with Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Modi had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a day before meeting Xi, and he later referenced that conversation, stating that he had exchanged views on the conflict. India has maintained a stance of neutrality in the war, refusing to take sides but urging resolution.
The meeting did not erase decades of strategic rivalry between India and China, but it initiated a slow and deliberate understanding between the two nations. President Donald Trump recently announced sweeping economic penalties on India, citing its purchases of Russian oil. The tariffs, initially 25 percent, then increased to 50 percent. China, however, has so far avoided similar treatment from the United States.
After his meeting with Xi Jinping, Modi also spoke with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both leaders signalled a desire to move beyond confrontation at the SCO summit. The Indian government's official readout stressed that differences between the two sides should not escalate into disputes.
This meeting in Tianjin was the first time Xi and Putin met in person since Putin's recent talks with Trump in Alaska. The SCO summit celebrated multilateral cooperation, but the deep-rooted mistrust between India and China continues to cast a shadow over their relationship. However, this meeting represents a hopeful step towards resolving long-standing issues and easing tensions between the two nations.
