Former U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced concerns about the evolving relationships between India, Russia, and China, following a summit in Tianjin where the leaders of the three nations convened. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, Trump stated, "Looks like we've lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!". The post included a photograph of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping together at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Trump's statement comes in the wake of the SCO summit, where Xi Jinping called for a new multipolar world order to challenge U.S. influence. The summit saw discussions on cooperation in areas like energy and security among the three nations, despite their existing differences with Washington on various issues.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly criticized the U.S.'s trade relationship with India, calling it a "one-sided disaster". About a month ago, he signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India, citing New Delhi's oil trade with Russia as a threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. He has also threatened tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese exports if Beijing continues its energy ties with Moscow and provides Russia with dual-use technology.
Despite the pressure, cooperation between Russia, China, and India appears to be deepening. Russia's Gazprom and China's CNPC recently signed a deal to build the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline, a 30-year project to supply Russian gas to China. China and India also remain among Moscow's largest oil buyers, which helps to support Russia's war efforts.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has so far declined to comment on Trump's remarks. However, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the relationship between the United States and India is very important and is anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. Jaiswal also rejected criticisms from Trump aide Peter Navarro regarding India's oil purchases from Russia, calling them "inaccurate and misleading statements".
India has described the tariffs imposed by the U.S. as "unfair". Some analysts suggest that these trade tensions and criticisms of India's energy trade with Russia have weakened Washington's leverage and contributed to a cooling of U.S.-India relations. India has maintained that its relationships with other countries stand on their own merit and should not be viewed through the lens of a third country.
