China, Russia, India “Axis” Against the US?

What NBC News and the AP Actually Reported

The wire story that ran across dozens of US outlets, including NBC News, described the leaders of China, Russia, and India gathering together with the other SCO heads of state in Kyrgyzstan, at a summit that the wire copy itself labeled a counterweight to US global influence. That single framing does a lot of work in a headline, because it compresses a ten-nation multilateral summit into a story about three countries “ganging up” on Washington.

What the coverage actually describes is a scheduled meeting of a bloc that has existed for a quarter-century. The SCO was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and four Central Asian states as a security forum, and it has grown steadily since, even as analysts note its goals remain fairly loosely defined. It now includes Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — not a private club of three countries plotting against the United States.

Example: Imagine a headline that read “G7 leaders meet to counter Chinese and Russian influence” every single time the G7 held its annual summit. Technically true in spirit, but it would flatten a broad multilateral gathering into a simple us-versus-them story — which is exactly what is happening here in reverse.

The Pew Survey: Why Americans View India Negatively

This kind of framing has consequences. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that American opinion of India has slipped to some of its lowest levels in nearly two decades. Only 45% of Americans now view India favorably, while 50% view it unfavorably — figures Pew itself flagged as among the weakest since it began tracking the question back in 2008. That is a sharp drop from 2023, when a majority of Americans, 51%, held a favorable opinion of India.

A large part of that shift is shaped by exactly the kind of coverage described above. When US outlets repeatedly frame every China-Russia-India gathering as a plot to counter US influence, it is easy for readers to walk away believing India is aligned against Washington — even though the underlying facts tell a very different story.

What Was Actually Happening in Bishkek

Here is the part that gets lost: there was no separate, private meeting between just China, Russia, and India in Kyrgyzstan. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were three of ten heads of state scheduled to attend the events in Bishkek, alongside leaders from Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and the Central Asian republics. The SCO is the group; Modi, Putin, and Xi are three of its members’ leaders, not the whole story.

What Modi Actually Told Putin

If India were quietly signing on to an “anti-US axis,” you would expect its leader to avoid criticizing Russia’s war. That is not what happened. During the summit, Modi told Putin, through a translator, that India supports efforts to end the war in Ukraine — that the world needs to move past endless war toward a genuine end of hostilities, and that doing so matters for all of humanity.

That is a notable statement. Among the leaders gathered in Bishkek, Modi was the one who directly told Russia, to its face, that the war needed to end — a position that does not fit neatly into the “axis against America” narrative.

India, China, and the Question of Nuclear Escalation

There is also a less-reported thread involving India and China’s role in restraining Russia’s nuclear rhetoric earlier in the war. Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski, told Indian media in July 2026 that Modi played a part in dissuading Putin from using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine at the end of 2022. In a separate briefing, Bartoszewski went further, explaining that Putin had at one point threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil, and that phone calls from both India’s Modi and China’s Xi Jinping — telling him neither country approved of that step — were what changed his calculus, more so than warnings from Washington.

If that account is accurate, it is a strange role for two supposed members of an “anti-US axis” to be playing: talking a nuclear power out of escalating a war that the United States and its allies also wanted to prevent.

So Was the US Actually Discussed at the SCO Summit?

Yes — but not in the way most headlines suggested. After the summit, SCO members signed a joint statement known as the Bishkek Declaration. In it, the bloc condemned military strikes on Iranian territory that it said caused significant civilian casualties and economic damage, and stated that the US-Israeli strikes on Iran violated international law and the UN Charter, creating serious risks to global peace and stability. The declaration also expressed deep concern over developments around Iran more broadly.

This declaration was signed not just by Russia, China, and India, but also by Pakistan — the same Pakistan whose leadership has, at other times, been described as close to Washington.

Example: It is a bit like ten neighbors on a street signing a joint letter objecting to a construction project down the road, and a news outlet reporting it as “three of the neighbors form secret alliance against the city.” Technically three names are on the list, but so are seven others, and the letter itself is about one specific, narrow complaint, not a broad anti-city campaign.

Why This Angle Gets Less Coverage

The Iran language in the Bishkek Declaration is arguably the most newsworthy part of the summit from a US foreign-policy standpoint, yet it received far less airtime on cable news than the “axis” framing did. That is worth sitting with: a formal joint declaration, signed by ten nations including a partner like Pakistan, criticizing US and Israeli strikes on Iran under international law, is a more concrete and citable claim than a vague “counterweight to US influence” framing — yet it was the vaguer framing that made the front page.

Expert Take: Is a Real China-Russia Power Bloc Forming?

In a separate discussion, Kamran Bukhari, a director at the Newlines Institute in Washington, DC, offered a more skeptical read on whether China and Russia are actually building a united front, let alone one that includes India as a junior partner.

Bukhari’s core argument is that China’s interests toward Russia are more self-serving than allied. He suggested Beijing is, in some ways, comfortable watching Russia weaken militarily, because a weaker Russia leaves more room for Chinese influence to expand into Central Asia — a region that was historically Moscow’s sphere of influence. At the same time, he noted that if Beijing can use Russia’s war in Ukraine to create problems for the United States, it will, though he described this as closer to information operations than substantive support, since China is unlikely to supply Russia with weapons or offer much beyond diplomatic statements.

On the idea of China mediating an end to the Ukraine war, Bukhari was doubtful. His reasoning: Russia’s core problem in Ukraine originates with the West, not China, so there is little reason for Putin to route his diplomacy through Beijing when direct channels to Washington already exist — and only the United States has real leverage over Kyiv.

On China’s broader global standing, Bukhari argued that Beijing’s economic footprint has not always translated into influence. He pointed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as an example of Belt and Road investment that has not delivered the results China hoped for, and noted that debt-heavy investment in countries like Sri Lanka has generated resentment rather than loyalty. He also cited survey data suggesting that public opinion in China’s own Asia-Pacific neighborhood — Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and others — leans unfavorable toward Beijing.

His bottom line: he does not see a formal China-Russia power bloc emerging, partly because China lacks Russia’s military-industrial capacity and Russia has been unable to militarily resolve the Ukraine war on its own. What he does see is China steadily overtaking Russia in overall global influence — a distinct trend from the idea of the two nations forming a unified alliance against the US, and one that says even less about India joining any such bloc.

The Bottom Line

The facts support a more layered story than “China Russia India axis forms to counter US influence.” Ten nations met in Bishkek because they are members of a 25-year-old organization holding its scheduled summit. India’s prime minister publicly urged Russia to end the war. India and China, according to a NATO-member’s own foreign ministry, may have played a role in preventing nuclear escalation in Ukraine. And the one concrete anti-US position that did emerge — condemnation of strikes on Iran — was a ten-country declaration, not a China-Russia-India plot, and Pakistan signed it too. Readers deserve the full picture, not just the headline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did China, Russia, and India hold a private meeting to counter the US?

No. They attended the same multilateral SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, along with seven other member states, including Iran and Pakistan. There was no separate trilateral meeting exclusive to those three countries.

What is the SCO and who is a member?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, and four Central Asian states. Today its members are Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

What did PM Modi say to Putin at the summit?

Modi told Putin that India supports ending the war in Ukraine, saying the world needs to move from endless war toward a genuine end of hostilities, calling it important for all of humanity.

What does the Bishkek Declaration actually say about the US?

The declaration condemns US-Israeli military strikes on Iran, stating they violate international law and the UN Charter and create risks to global peace and stability. It does not target the United States broadly beyond this specific issue.

Did India or China stop Russia from using nuclear weapons?

Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister has publicly stated that calls from India’s Modi and China’s Xi Jinping influenced Putin’s decision not to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine in late 2022. This account has not been independently confirmed by Russia.

Why do Americans view India less favorably now?

According to Pew Research, favorable US views of India fell from 51% in 2023 to 45% in 2026, with 50% now viewing India unfavorably — among the lowest ratings recorded since Pew began tracking the question in 2008.

Sources

• NBC News — Leaders of China, Russia and India meeting to counter U.S. influence
• PBS NewsHour — SCO summit coverage, including Modi’s remarks to Putin
• Al Jazeera — SCO slams attacks, sanctions on Iran: Key takeaways from Bishkek summit
• Pew Research Center — Public opinion of India is mixed across 36 countries
• The Tribune — Polish Foreign Minister on PM Modi’s role in Ukraine nuclear de-escalation

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