With the meeting coming between Britain’s vote in June to leave the European Union and the United States presidential election in November, observers expect the G20 leaders to mount a defense of free trade and globalization and warn against isolationism. With the financial prowess as the largest foreign reserves holder and the largest trading nation on earth, China is increasingly in a leading position to take care of the health of the global economy, as it is expected to become the world’s biggest economy in the years to come.
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“Growth drivers from the previous round of technological progress are gradually fading, while a new round of technological and industrial revolution has yet to gain momentum”, he said.
Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion about whether, and how, they could agree on a deal, a senior USA administration official said.
Arriving for the G-20 leaders summit in China on Saturday, Obama was forced to leave his Air Force One jet though a back exit, while Chinese officials refused to allow reporters and photographers beyond a cordon, preventing them from witnessing his arrival.
With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the US presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism.
In Xi’s almost four years leading China, his government has focused on establishing its image as a world leader, a professor at Renmin University of China said.
That’s based on, according Chinese President Xi Jinping, “a deeper understanding of the importance of making full use of the role of the G20 as the premier forum for worldwide economic cooperation”.
The G20 leaders promised “inclusive growth”.
He called for more innovation to spur economic growth and reforms to global financial and economic management. They called for cooperation to reduce tax avoidance. He said the trade bloc will look at Beijing’s response when deciding whether to grant China market economy status, which would make it harder to bring anti-dumping cases.
The G20 Hangzhou summit, with its broad achievements, will help chart a clearer future course for the troubled world economy, State Councilor Yang Jiechi noted on Tuesday.
The statement expressed “opposition to protectionism on trade and investment in all its forms”.
There was no mention of a global stimulus or other joint action, which officials said earlier was unworkable because economic conditions vary widely from country to country.
The International Monetary Fund s Christine Lagarde conceded that globalisation “has to benefit all, not a few”, but said that the fruits of a connected world were severely undersold.
It said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development will lead a “global forum” on steel overcapacity and identify uncooperative tax havens.
“Who is he?”, the fiery new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, asked Monday at a news conference, referring to Obama.
“The blueprint provides us with the consensus, action plan and the overall framework to open up a new path for global growth and increase medium- to long-term potential of the world economy”, he said.
“We can say that our mutual work with the U.S.in fighting terrorist organizations, including in Syria, will be significantly improved and intensified”, Putin said at a press conference.
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European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he did not like the idea of Britain holding trade talks while still part of the EU.
