PM Modi reached out to both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin to form a new axis against what are being called"Trump’s bullying tactics" on tariffs

Substantial bilateral meetings with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, defining visuals of the troika standing together that won’t go unnoticed in Washington D.C., a Modi-Putin car ride that lasted like a bilateral, inclusion of Pahalgam terror attack in the joint statement, and an escalating effort to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China visit had several key takeaways.

The visit came at a time when India has been slapped with 50% tariffs by the U.S. and communication between Donald Trump and Modi has broken down. Trump is not expected to come to India for the QUAD summit this year and Modi may not travel for the UN General Assembly this month. But at the SCO Summit in Tianjin, one saw how Modi reached out to both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to form a new axis against what most of the world is criticising as “Trump’s bullying tactics" on tariffs.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2025

Substantial bilaterals: PM Modi had a nearly 50-minute long bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping in his first visit to China in eight years. The meeting with Putin also lasted around 50 minutes but the two leaders had another conversation lasting as long in the car as they drove together to the meeting venue on Putin’s request. The drive distance was only 10 minutes but the leaders spoke in the car for around 45 minutes more once they reached. These were very substantial meetings with important issues being discussed thread-bare. Resumption of direct India-China flights, and Putin’s visit to India this December, have been sealed after these bilateral meets. Modi was clearly the centre-piece at the SCO Summit.

Pictures speak a thousand words: Much was said in the private bilaterals but the gestures of the troika in the informal meet-ups would capture headlines from Europe to Washington D.C. Modi walked hand-in-hand with Putin and took him for a chat with Xi Jinping with their interpreters rushing in to take notes of the important conversation. These pictures of Modi-Xi-Putin together, or Modi travelling in Putin’s car, were clearly a message to Donald Trump who was been fuming at India’s close relations with Russia on oil purchases. These optics would be seen as the answer of the troika to Donald Trump’s tactics of tariff diplomacy. Modi and Putin’s camaraderie and hugs became the number one trend on Weibo and Chinese search website Baidu on Monday.

Sharing my remarks during meeting with President Putin. https://t.co/PADOdRjsBs— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2025

The car ride: Within a fortnight of Donald Trump riding with Putin in the same car in Alaska, Putin sent out a message by requesting that Modi travel with him in his car from the SCO summit venue to the bilateral meet venue. The significance of the same was not lost on anyone. Sources say it was Putin’s desire to travel together and he waited for 10 minutes for Modi to join. The leaders conversed for 10 minutes during the drive and for another 45 minutes in the car on reaching the venue. For Trump who has been upset about India’s Russian oil purchases, this was a snub.

After the proceedings at the SCO Summit venue, President Putin and I travelled together to the venue of our bilateral meeting. Conversations with him are always insightful. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2025

Pahalgam in joint statement: A big win for India was the inclusion of the Pahalgam terror attack in the SCO Joint statement this time – something that did not happen during the earlier SCO meeting where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not sign the draft statement as it did not mention Pahalgam. Modi, in his speech at the SCO Summit, trained guns at Pakistan by asking: “Can the open support for terrorism by certain countries ever be acceptable to us?" He cited the Pahalgam terror attack to say “double standards on terrorism are unacceptable" – all of this in the presence of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif on the same table.

Interactions in Tianjin continue! Exchanging perspectives with President Putin and President Xi during the SCO Summit. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 1, 2025

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Will Modi broker peace deal? Modi spoke twice to both Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy last month. Modi spoke to Zelenskyy before meeting Putin at the SCO Meet in China on Monday — and has carried a signal to Putin. The bilateral meeting with Putin had a substantial discussion on Ukraine, sources say. Modi said to Putin: “We have been continuously discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. We welcome all the recent peace efforts. We hope that all parties will move forward constructively. A way has to be found to end the conflict as soon as possible and establish lasting peace. This is the call of the entire humanity."

With Putin coming to India this December, is a peace deal possible with Modi’s efforts?

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China President Xi JinpingNarendra Modinews18 specialsPresident Vladimir Putin

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New Delhi, India, India

First Published:

September 01, 2025, 16:27 IST

News india PM Modi, Xi Jinping & Putin: 3 Leaders, One New Axis & 5 Key Takeaways From SCO Meet In China

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