(TNS) Chinese President Xi Jinping used a mix of bonhomie and economic allure this week to send Donald Trump a clear message: Beijing has too much global clout to be dictated by the U.S.

Cameras captured the Chinese leader in a rare, unscripted huddle on Monday with Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi — his most powerful partners in resisting America on the world stage — at a summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. At one point, Xi held the hand of his Indian counterpart, as the three men laughed casually, a striking scene given just months earlier New Delhi and Beijing were seen as rivals.

The images were a victory for Xi’s decade-long political project to build an alternative to the U.S.-led world order. Hours after the trio gathered at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization event, Bei

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