G20 members reiterated their stance to oppose trade protectionism and support multilateral trading mechanisms in pursuit of trade growth, and formulated guiding principles for investment policymaking to facilitate investment around the world. The United States responded by imposing a 500 percent duty on Chinese steel.
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China’s President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, September 4, 2016. He said G20 members have agreed and are determined to revitalize global trade and investment as key engines of growth.
US President Barack Obama said he plans to advocate for trade and “cut through the noise” of the election season.
Administration officials had said that Obama would make the case for the TPP during his visit to Asia, including in a speech he has scheduled in Laos today.
But in talks earlier on Monday, 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.
Another G20 summit attendee, Joerg Wuttke, the president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told the Morning Post that many G20 members wanted the issue at least mentioned in one or more communiques at the economic summit.
Hua criticized the media for not respecting China’s rules on where to stand to capture images of the Obama leaving the plane, adding that other countries’ reporters were fine.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who supports protectionist trade policies, has pulled into an effective tie with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, erasing a substantial deficit.
There was even a joint announcement by China and United States that they would ratify the Paris climate change agreement, a significant step for the world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Group of 20 leaders pledged to use all available tools to help prop up global growth that’s weaker than it should be while avoiding competitive currency devaluations.
China, has for the first time joined the world’s top 25 most innovative economies, which had been dominated by developed economies, according to a report released in August by Cornell University, INSEAD business school and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
“This discussion goes to the heart of how we build an economy that works for everyone”.
Past realities teach us that merely relying on fiscal and monetary policies does not work for the world economy, Xi said, adding that the world should pursue innovation-driven economy and create a new round of growth and prosperity.
“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.
This was the last G20 summit for Obama.
A Chinese security official had also blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac and yelled at another USA official trying to help journalists get closer to Obama.
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An official from British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said they and the United States had pushed for language in the communique on the importance of working together at G20 to tackle excess production.
