Chinese leader Xi Jinping told India’s Narendra Modi the “right choice” is for their countries to be friends as the two met in China for first time in seven years – a new milestone in a nascent rapprochement between the world’s most populous nations accelerated by shared frictions with the United States.

India-US relations face turbulence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump balance personal friendship with growing disagreements over tariffs. Amid talks of Modi’s bonhomie with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin after the SCO Summit,

The positive remarks by the two leaders come at a time when the relationship between the US and India is under significant strain. This tension follows Washington’s decision to impose a substantial 50 per cent tariff on certain Indian goods.