Nepal, Sept. 14 -- The trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump intensified with the imposition of a 50 percent tariff on India. This led many in the Trump administration to accuse India of being responsible for the Russian war with Ukraine. India's decision to seek rapprochement with China and Modi's agreement to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin were, therefore, landmark events, as many other countries try to navigate the US dictation of a global order at the cost of rising powers. The SCO meeting at Tianjin assumed significance in the larger context of the global trade war.

This time, the SCO meeting was the largest gathering of the countries consisting of 10 members, two observers and 14 dia...