Trump shows limits, Xi gains leverage as rivals rally on separate stages

US struggles at G20 finance meeting vs. China's SCO show of force

Xi meets Putin, Iran's president in Bishkek as 'multipolar' bloc tightens

Washington draws mockery over Canada spat, faces uphill push on Iran sanctions

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping tour the gardens of Zhongnanhai in Beijing on May 15. [Getty Images]

The United States and China each moved to rally their respective camps on separate diplomatic stages — but the results could not have looked more different: fractures on one side, cohesion on the other.

At the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Washington's "America First" pressure on allies deepened tensions, while at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping held back-to-back meetings with the leaders of Russia and Iran to showcase a "multipolar" front against the United States. Analysts say that as the Trump administration exposes the limits of its alliance management, Xi is quietly building the diplomatic leverage to push back against Washington.

On Monday (local time), Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, on the sidelines of the SCO summit — their first encounter in three months — and put "global multipolarity" front and center.

"Global multipolarity" is the core diplomatic slogan Beijing and Moscow have long wielded to counter what they see as a US-dominated unipolar order. Without naming Washington directly, the message was widely read as a call to strengthen the non-Western bloc led by China and Russia against the existing international order — casting the Bishkek summit as a diplomatic stage for pushback against the Trump administration's foreign policy and the Western-led system.

Xi told the meeting that China "wants to discuss the grand strategy for SCO development together with Russia and other member states," adding that it seeks to "lead reform of global governance and strengthen the capacity to advance an equal and orderly world multipolarity."

Strategic solidarity on display as Russia, India and Iran join anti-Western front

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of a tea ceremony following their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 20 (local time). [AP]

Putin also stressed strategic solidarity with China. "In today's complex geopolitical situation, the comprehensive partnership and strategic mutual cooperation between Russia and China serves as a model for interstate relations," he said, adding that Moscow would deepen cooperation with Beijing in multilateral forums including the UN, BRICS and the G20.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended the summit. Modi, meeting with Putin, said India "supports all peace efforts related to this" — referring to the war in Ukraine — "and will continue to do so," urging that the war must end for the sake of humanity.

Russia remains under Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, while Iran faces US military pressure and economic isolation. Against that backdrop, both countries' active pursuit of closer ties with China and India has raised the SCO's profile as a diplomatic and economic platform for non-Western nations pushing back against US and Western pressure.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Monday. [AFP]

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov greets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ahead of a session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Tuesday (local time). [Reuters]

The summit carries added weight for having convened amid two wars — in Ukraine and involving Iran — that have shaken the global economy and security order.

The New York Times said "Xi's visit to Bishkek again demonstrated China's capacity to prop up America's adversaries economically, in war and in peace alike," adding that "the SCO summit became a stage for showing just how much geopolitical leverage the two wars have handed Xi."

Julian Gewirtz, who served as senior director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council under the Joe Biden administration, said Xi "appears to have seized on this moment — when Washington is at odds with so many of its allies — to demonstrate that China has friends and options around the world."

US hits turbulence at G20 finance meeting amid ally tensions and Iran sanctions push

JPMorgan Chase Chairman Jamie Dimon (from left), US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and Jill Castilla, chair of Citizens Bank of Edmond, speak at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting that opened Monday (local time) in Asheville, North Carolina. [AFP]

The two wars also dominated the agenda at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, held the same day. But the Trump administration's conduct at the meeting it was hosting drew criticism for appearing to sideline its own allies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent planned to press finance ministers from major economies to join Washington's push to cut Iran off from the global financial system. But with the United States having imposed aggressive tariffs on key allies — deepening fractures in the international order and alliance relationships — analysts say winning their cooperation will be far from easy.

Cornell University historian Nicholas Mulder said "secondary sanctions on Iran could disrupt global oil supply, push prices back up and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates," adding that "with the Treasury already struggling to calm growing anxiety in the bond market, it will be very hard to credibly do the same in sanctions enforcement."

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent answers reporters' questions upon arriving at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday (local time). [Reuters]

The Associated Press noted that the finance ministers' meeting was taking place as hostilities between the United States and Iran had flared again and trade tensions with Canada had worsened, with both countries ratcheting up tariffs after trade talks broke down.

Bessent did not hold back in mocking Canada, which is locked in a trade dispute with Washington. Asked on CNBC about Canada's retaliatory trade measures, he shrugged off the threat, saying "you can't go tit for tat with someone 13 times your size" — dismissing Canada's economy as too small to take on the United States.

Daniel Fried, who served as assistant secretary of state for European affairs under the George W. Bush administration, said "in the current environment, the United States may find it difficult to rally its traditional friends and allies," adding that "if the Trump administration wants to build international support, it needs to pay far more attention to consulting with allies and partners than it has in recent months."

Debriefing: The Korea Herald's international desk breaks down the hidden stories behind the hottest global issues. Have a question? Leave a comment.

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