The Alliance America Built: How US Policy Pushed Foes and Friends Together

In a twist of geopolitical irony, recent American foreign policy seems to have accomplished what decades of diplomacy could not: pushing rivals like India and China into a closer working relationship with Russia. The result was on full display at the SCO summit, where the three nations’ leaders presented a united front that one US analyst dubbed a “new world order.”
Political commentator Van Jones pointed to the striking image of Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin together as a cause for major alarm in the US. He called the event a “historically big deal,” suggesting that America’s own actions, particularly its aggressive trade policies, have backfired by creating a powerful new opposition bloc.
The summit was a pointed diplomatic statement. Held amidst escalating tariff battles, the meeting of the three leaders, conspicuously without Washington’s presence, was a clear signal of defiance. It showcased their collective ability to shape global events and build a future that is not dependent on American approval.
“We’re going to look back on today historically as a very big deal,” Jones predicted. He explained that the US has been maneuvered “in a box,” on the “bad side of the triangle” where “it’s everybody against us.” This new reality, he argues, is a direct, albeit unintentional, consequence of an American foreign policy that has alienated the rest of the world.