There is wide support for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call to end protectionism and build a more open global economy.
Advertisement
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama exchange icy stares on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou.
“We aim to revive growth engines of global trade and investment”, Xi said in a closing statement. This situation needs a display of sagacity on the part of leadership of G20 member states, as a fragile global economy can not afford protectionism. But Monday’s launch risked embarrassing its main ally Beijing, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure a smooth summit meeting. “India has striven to become a world power and to have a bigger say in worldwide affairs, hence it needs to shoulder its due responsibilities and take actions, regardless of the difficulties, to help save the planet”, it said.
Mrs May’s face-to-face talks with President Xi come at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, where the Prime Minister has sought to win support for the United Kingdom as it prepares for life outside the European Union.
The United States and Russia struggled Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between USA -backed rebels and Syria’s Russian-aligned regime.
Lack of trust between the US and Russian Federation is getting in the way of possible cooperation to stop the violence in Syria, President Barack Obama said Sunday.
But in talks earlier yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, although they will meet again this week.
From Sunday to Monday, leaders of G20 members, guest countries and worldwide organizations exchanged views on topics including more effective global economic and financial governance, robust worldwide trade and investment, and inclusive and interconnected development.
China sees the summit as a showcase for its global leadership credentials, and Asian giant’s geopolitical issues swirled around the gathering.
With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the USA presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism.
A sit-down between Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also laid bare the two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies’ diverging interests in Syria, with Erdogan pointedly challenging Obama on USA support for Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel took the blame for her party’s surprising loss in her home state Sunday, acknowledging today it was tied to her controversial immigration policy in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama.
“I think we managed to get to an understanding of one another and to understanding of the problems that we are facing”, he added.
But an European Union diplomat said that in their communique the leaders would make a strong stand on refugee flows, agreeing that they were a global issue and the burden had to be shared.
It said new challenges including terrorism and immigration complicated the global economic outlook, and that the G20 agreed use all policy tools available to drive strong and sustainable growth.
The G20 members will capitalize on the new opportunities brought about by innovation, new industrial revolution, digital economy and other new factors and business types, and make a series of action plans, he said.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking after the summit, also said more inclusive growth was a priority in the global economy. “It may not be everything that needs to get done, but if it’s better than before we started, we’ll take it”.
Officials at Hangzhou airport have been accused of deliberately failing to provide a staircase for the president to disembark from air force One on Sunday.
The Prime Minister will give her verdict on the £18 billion project later this month, with security implications and the high cost of the energy produced by the Somerset plant among the concerns raised by critics about the scheme.
Mr Putin told journalists there was a convergence of views between Russian Federation and the United States.
Advertisement
The document, to be released later, “explicitly mentions the need for increasing financial assistance as well as strengthening the contributions of the global community”, the diplomat told reporters.
