DAVID PIERSON, MUJIB MASHAL AND NATALIYA VASILYEVA

New York Times

TIANJIN, China — Xi Jinping could hardly have scripted a more favorable moment. The leaders of India and Russia joined him at a security summit in China − one leader pushed away by President Trump's tariffs, the other brought out of isolation by his embrace.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, U.S. tariffs on Indian goods have raised doubts about leaning too heavily on Washington. For President Vladimir Putin of Russia, his red-carpet treatment in Alaska by Trump blunted Western efforts to punish him for the invasion of Ukraine.

At the center is Xi, turning America's alienation of India into an opportunity, and finding validation for his own long alignment with Putin.

The summit of more than 20 leaders, mostly fr

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