Overview

• U.S. ambassador‑designate Sergio Gor told senators that talks with India are proceeding and the Indian commerce minister is expected in Washington, pointing to a reset after the August 27 imposition of an extra 25% tariff on Indian exports.
• President Trump’s public posture swung from warning that the U.S. had “lost” India and Russia to China to praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and predicting a trade fix, even as he urged the European Union to levy 100% tariffs over Russian oil purchases.
• At the Tianjin gathering, China advanced headline proposals, including a new SCO Development Bank, Xi Jinping’s Global Governance Initiative, and support for Chinese AI frameworks, alongside a joint statement asserting equal rights to develop and use AI.
• Prime Minister Modi held rare, highly visible bilaterals with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin—his first meeting with Xi in China in seven years—producing images widely read as signaling strategic autonomy under U.S. trade pressure.
• The SCO declaration pressed for reform of global institutions, condemned violence in Gaza and related airstrikes, rejected double standards on human rights, and included counterterror language referencing the Pahalgam attack, though analysts noted implementation remains uncertain.