A photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has set the ball rolling for what the “new world order” – the one dominated and determined by Asia – may look like.
Captured smiling and exchanging pleasantries at the recently concluded Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the leaders represented the countries at the receiving end of US President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs.
The photographs have not gone unnoticed in the Western media, with US political commentator Van Jones saying it should “send a chill down the spine of every American.”
“We’re going to look back on today historically as a very big deal because that image of Xi Jinping with Putin, with Modi from India, with the leader of Iran, with the leader of North Korea, that should send a chill down the spine of every American,” Mr Jones said on CNN.
He described the gathering as a sign of a “new world order”, where the West finds itself increasingly boxed in by a multi-polar global landscape.
At the SCO summit, PM Modi was seen clasping Mr Putin’s hand, bursting into laughter, while the Russian leader grinned. Mr Xi maintained a measured smile as the three leaders huddled briefly before lining up for a group photo in Tianjin.
Other images showed the camaraderie among the leaders: PM Modi and Mr Putin greeting Mr Xi animatedly, PM Modi embracing Mr Putin, and the leaders walking shoulder to shoulder with Mr Xi.
“That is a new world order. They call it a multipolar world. I call it the West is now in a box,” Mr Jones added.
CNN host Van Jones says
????️”The image of Xi, Putin & Modi together should send chills down the spine of every American.
The West is trapped; it’s all versus us.
It’s a dagger pointed at the heart of the West.”#USA | #Russia | #China | #India pic.twitter.com/K4HHP8UtP8— ⚡️???? World News ????⚡️ (@ferozwala) September 4, 2025
“It was the United States and China together and Russia by itself. Now we’re on the bad end of the triangle. It’s everybody against us. That is not good for America,” he said.
This week was the first gathering of four nations that US analysts label an anti-American “axis of upheaval” – Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia, as per the Washington Post.
The New York Times said, “The tableau carried multiple messages. The bonhomie between Mr Xi and Mr Putin was meant to convey a close bond between them as leaders of an alternative world order challenging the United States.”
It added, “Mr Modi sought to show that India has other important friends – including China, regardless of an unresolved border dispute – if the Trump administration chooses to continue alienating New Delhi with tariffs.”
The SCO summit, initially conceived as a regional forum in Central Asia, has grown in size and influence, representing an emerging “challenge” to US global leadership, CNN said.
Mr Xi focused on the need for countries to reject Cold War thinking, rival power blocs, and bullying, and instead protect the UN-centred international system. He called for a world order with multiple power centres and a more just and balanced global governance system.
US President Trump, on Wednesday wrote on Truth Social, “May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America.”
The meetings coincided with a Beijing parade marking 80 years since Japan’s World War II surrender. Mr Xi, Mr Putin, and Mr Kim stood shoulder to shoulder as lakhs watched advanced military technology on display. Mr Xi warned to “never return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak,” the BBC reported.
During the parade, Mr Putin and Mr Xi were caught on a hot mic discussing organ transplants and the possibility of humans living to 150 years. The discussion occurred as they, with Kim Jong Un, walked toward Tiananmen Square.
