Chinese President Xi Jinping is doing something unusual this week. He is driving Donald Trump off the front page. The story the world is watching isn’t datelined Washington. Instead Tianjin, China, was front and center as Mr. Xi held the largest summit to date of the China-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Besides Vladimir Putin and the usual crowd of Central Asian presidents, attendees include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leaders representing Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
It was a big event. Mr. Putin’s presence showed that despite Trump administration attempts to drive wedges between China and its allies, the two Eurasian supergiants are still presenting a united front. The presence of Iran’s president, at a time when Germany, Britain and France are pushing for tightened United Nations sanctions on the embattled Islamic Republic, underscored Tehran’s continued commitment to the cause of resistance. And the presence of Mr. Modi, whose once-special relationship with Mr. Trump has become strained, was a hint to Washington not to take India for granted.