London, Sept. 6 -- The smiles on the faces and the grasping of hands said it all. Even President Xi Jinping, not known for his social exuberance, was observed giving a cautious grin. When the leaders of China, India, Russia and more than 20 other countries met in Tianjin last week for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, the optics marked another milestone away from the US-led global order. This Eurasian political and security gathering was in part designed to cement Beijing's clout and champion its vision of a "multipolar world order". But the sight of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi holding hands and pledging cooperation also sent a clear message to President Donald Trump.

Observers were quick to notice. "How the ...