Facing tariffs and insults from President Trump, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a far friendlier interaction on Monday with his Russian and Chinese counterparts during his first visit to China in seven years.

The big picture: Successive U.S. presidents have aggressively courted India as a counterweight to China. Trump is actively trying to drive a wedge between India and Russia while seeking to gradually peel Russia away from China. So the image of all three leaders literally holding hands is, at the very least, a symbolic blow.

Driving the news: Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin entered the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit hand-in-hand and immediately formed a tight circle with Chinese President Xi Jinping — warm smiles on display for the press. • Xi gave a sp

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