The United States has "lost" India and Russia to China, President Donald Trump said early Friday.
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The president, posting a photograph of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, quipped on Truth Social that it "Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!"
Trump's comments were in response to a photo taken during last week's Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, where Xi hosted leaders of Russia and India along with dignitaries from about 20 Eurasian nations.
The gathering, which ran through Monday, preceded a massive military parade in Beijing, marking 80 years since the end of World War II.
Founded in 2001, the SCO brings together China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and several Central Asian states, with 16 additional countries participating as observers or dialogue partners.
Beijing and Moscow claim that the organization counters Western-led alliances, such as NATO.
Modi, on his first trip to China since 2018, pledged to advance ties "on the basis of mutual trust, dignity and sensitivity," while Xi, according to state media, urged that the two nations see each other as "partners rather than rivals" and as "opportunities for development rather than threats."
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China and India remain tense rivals, having fought a deadly border clash in 2020. Still, Modi stressed that the well-being of 2.8 billion people depended on closer ties. Analysts say India's disputes with Washington over trade and its purchases of Russian oil could push New Delhi into closer alignment with Beijing and Moscow.
Other leaders at the summit included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and side meetings touched on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, highlighting how both China and Russia are seeking to expand their influence as tensions with the United States and Europe deepen.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.