Has US economic nationalism driven India into China’s embrace?

THE photograph from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin tells a story that should alarm American strategists: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting comfortably between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The three leaders projecting unity in the face of Donald Trump’s renewed presidency.

What we’re witnessing is not merely diplomatic theatre, but the predictable consequence of America’s misguided approach to great power competition – one that prioritises economic coercion over strategic thinking.

Trump’s decision to impose 50 per cent tariffs on India represents a textbook case of what happens when ideological rigidity overrides geopolitical realism.