The Chinese government gave grand import to the September 4-5 meeting, with the official motto: Towards an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy.
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Obama’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping also veered into delicate territory, with a lengthy White House description detailing how Obama had pressed Xi to abide by an global tribunal’s ruling against China over the South China Sea.
But Obama “suggested the USA has concerns about Russian Federation holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms”, the wire service writes.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, attending her first G20 summit, said governments needed to “do more to ensure that working people really benefit from the opportunities created by free trade”.
The American side accused Russian Federation of backtracking on already agreed issues which Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo.
Heavy security for the event brought Hangzhou, a city of 2.5 million people, to a standstill and left downtown streets deserted.
Discussions at the meeting were distracted by North Korea test-firing three medium-range ballistic missiles in a defiant reminder of the risks to global security. “The US President is absolutely honest in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict”, also calling the US a “key partner” on security issues.
But Obama added: “Part of what I’ve tried to communicate to President Xi Jinping is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself”. “A points-based system does not give you that control”.
For the first time, the summit has put the issue of development front and center of the global macro policy framework, supporting the industrialization of African countries and least developed countries.
While Seoul and Washington say the system is intended exclusively to defend against North Korea’s missile threat, Beijing says it will allow the US military to peer deep into northeastern China.
Prime Minister May spent much of the summit discussing Britain’s European Union exit, which will force the country to define its trading relationships with Europe, the USA and other partners.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump opposes global trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership – a pact involving 11 countries across four continents.
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A volunteer at the airport said that preparations for the summit started months ago and that in April she expressed willingness to serve the summit.
