Pakistan’s Silent Standoff at SCO: Modi, Shehbaz Keep Distance as Xi and Putin Show Camaraderie. The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, was as much about diplomatic symbolism as it was about policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif kept their distance, while Modi, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin were seen in unusually warm camaraderie an image interpreted globally as a subtle pushback against U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff war.
Silent Standoff at SCO: Modi, Shehbaz Keep Distance as Xi and Putin Show Camaraderie
Modi and Sharif: Distance Amid Operation Sindoor Fallout
At a banquet hosted for SCO leaders, Modi and Sharif were captured in a photograph facing away from each other. In another family photo of the summit, the two leaders stood deliberately far apart.
The optics spoke volumes against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor, India’s cross-border strike on May 7 following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
India’s counteroffensive has kept bilateral ties with Pakistan at a low point, and the Tianjin summit offered no thaw. In fact, their visible distance only underscored the frozen state of India-Pakistan relations in 2025.
While Shehbaz Sharif maintained silence, Prime Minister Modi used his official X handle to highlight his “productive exchange of views” with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on security, energy, and healthcare cooperation pointedly leaving out any mention of Pakistan.
Modi–Xi Meeting: Stability and Trade Deficit on Agenda
Amid the tense optics with Pakistan, Modi engaged in a rare and formally announced meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The conversation focused on reducing a near USD 100 billion trade deficit, maintaining border stability, and exploring new areas of cooperation.
This meeting carried the shadow of the unresolved 2020 Galwan clash and the military standoff that followed. Yet, both leaders struck a cautious optimism.
Xi remarked, “As long as the two countries remain partners rather than rivals, China-India relations will flourish,” while Modi emphasized peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The encounter marked the second Modi–Xi meeting since their breakthrough announcement in 2024 to ease border tensions after years of hostility.
Global Trade Turbulence: Trump’s Tariff Shockwaves
The SCO summit unfolded under the cloud of a global trade war sparked by Donald Trump’s tariff measures.
The Trump administration has imposed a universal 10% tariff and steep China-specific duties, with a temporary truce in place until November 10.
India, too, has been hit hard. The U.S. has slapped a 50% duty on Indian exports worth nearly USD 80 billion, covering textiles, gems, jewelry, carpets, and shrimp.
Small exporters in India are scrambling to diversify into Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Gulf, even as New Delhi insists it will “not bow down” to Washington’s pressure.
Modi, Xi, Putin: Bonhomie on Display
If Modi and Sharif avoided each other, the opposite was true when it came to Modi’s interactions with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.
The three leaders displayed unusual camaraderie smiling, shaking hands, walking together, and even huddling for animated conversations.
One viral video captured Modi holding Putin’s hand as they walked towards Xi Jinping, followed by the three leaders chatting light-heartedly with their interpreters.
Another set of images showed Modi and Putin sharing the backseat of a car and later hugging each other. Modi captioned the post on X: “Always a delight to meet President Putin!”
The warmth between the three was widely interpreted as an unspoken counterweight to Trump’s tariff threats.
None of the leaders mentioned the U.S. by name, but their collective display of unity was seen as a message from Tianjin to Washington.
Modi-Putin Talks: Reaffirming Strategic Ties
In bilateral talks, both Modi and Putin reaffirmed their nations’ long-standing ties. Modi said, “A close cooperation between India and Russia is critical for global peace,” while Putin echoed that sentiment, calling the relationship “very good.”
Russia, facing Western sanctions, sees India and China as crucial partners in trade and energy.
India’s purchase of Russian oil has already drawn Trump’s ire, with Washington imposing 25% additional tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for buying Russian crude.
Trump has even threatened Putin with 100% tariffs on Russian exports if Moscow refuses to agree to a peace deal. Yet, in Tianjin, Modi and Putin seemed unfazed, emphasizing stability and cooperation.
Shehbaz Sharif’s Past Fumbles Resurface
While the 2025 SCO summit showed Sharif keeping his distance from Modi, international observers recalled his earlier missteps on the global stage.
At the 2022 SCO summit in Uzbekistan, Sharif struggled with his translation headphones during a meeting with Putin. The device slipped repeatedly, prompting Putin to laugh briefly. Sharif was even heard asking, “Can somebody help me?” The clip went viral, drawing mockery at home and abroad.
In later years, Sharif faced more controversies taking an umbrella from a female staffer at a Paris summit, posting a congratulatory note to Trump on X that was flagged for violating Pakistan’s ban on the platform, and sharing a doctored image of Chinese military equipment as a diplomatic gift.
These past fumbles have only reinforced Pakistan’s fragile international image, especially when juxtaposed against India’s assertive diplomacy under Modi.
A Subtle Setback for Trump?
While Trump’s tariffs have rattled global trade, the images of Modi, Xi, and Putin together in Tianjin sent a different signal that Asia’s major powers may be drawing closer to balance U.S. economic pressure.
For Trump, the optics were not favorable. Just weeks earlier, he had claimed that Russia had “lost an oil client” in India, but the camaraderie in Tianjin suggested otherwise.
India, China, and Russia remain firmly in dialogue, even as Washington tries to drive wedges between them.
Conclusion
The 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin was defined by contrasts: distance between Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, warmth between Modi, Xi, and Putin, and tension with Donald Trump’s tariff measures in the backdrop.
While no breakthroughs were announced, the summit underscored the fragile state of India–Pakistan relations, the delicate thaw in India–China ties, and the resilience of the India–Russia partnership. More importantly, it demonstrated that Asian leaders are ready to showcase solidarity even silently against external economic pressures.
For New Delhi, the SCO stage was not just about security cooperation but also about optics, and in Tianjin, those optics told a powerful story.
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