US President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that India and Russia appear to have been ‘lost’ to China. His remarks followed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held earlier this week in Tianjin, China.
Trump posted on his platform, Truth Social, sharing a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” he wrote.
The photo came from the recent SCO summit, where PM Modi, President Putin and President Xi were seen standing together. The show of unity between the leaders was widely interpreted as a strategic signal to the West, especially in response to Trump’s tough trade measures.
Earlier in the week, Trump criticised the current US-India trade relationship, calling it a ‘one-sided disaster’. He said India exports large volumes of goods to the US while importing very little in return.
“What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us,” Trump said in another post.
“In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest “client,” but we sell them very little – Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades,” he added.
Trump also highlighted the new 50% tariff imposed on Indian goods, which came into effect on 27 August. He blamed India’s continued oil imports from Russia for the increased duties.
Several former US officials have criticised Trump’s trade policies, arguing they have harmed US-India relations. John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Adviser, said the ‘once-strong personal rapport’ between PM Modi and President Trump has faded.
He blamed the current US administration for pushing back bilateral ties by decades.
Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan echoed this view. He said Trump’s aggressive trade stance forced India to align more closely with China.
“China has moved ahead of the United States in popularity in a whole lot of countries,” Sullivan stated. “And that was not the case one year ago. Countries now are basically saying the US brand is in the toilet, and China is looking like a responsible player.”
As PM Modi and President Putin joined hands with Xi in Tianjin, the world watched what many experts described as a potential shift in the global power dynamic.
Also Read: Trump Calls India-US Trade Ties A ‘One-Sided Disaster’
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