“We are determined to revive worldwide trade and investment”, Xi said, pledging to “reverse the downward trend in global trade growth”.
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This year’s most exclusive and closely-watched diplomatic party, the G20 summit, saw presidents and prime ministers from countries representing 85 per cent of the global economy gather in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Hangzhou-Chinese President Xi Jinping launched on Sunday the G20 Nations Summit in the presence of Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and world leaders.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, offering “Chinese remedies” to promote the world’s economy with robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, which has won over participating leaders, as well as worldwide public opinions.
“The Group of 20 is like a bridge, bringing together people from all over the world”, Mr. Xi said. Offers of vacations and encouragement for residents to go out of town had turned Hangzhou into a ghost town of empty streets for the meeting.
“Our policy has not changed to closely monitor developments of the exchange market with sense of tension and steadily respond when necessary”, Abe told a press conference, saying the policy is in accordance with the G-20 agreement.
Chinese leaders hope the two-day meeting will increase their influence in managing the global economy.
European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he did not like the idea of Britain holding trade talks while still part of the EU.
He confirmed that China will establish an global tax policy research center.
China has begun to close some steel factories, with more expected next year.
China produces half the world’s annual output of 1.6 billion tonnes of steel and has struggled to decrease its estimated 300 million tonne overcapacity, and rising prices have given companies there an incentive to boost production for export.
The alignment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union is now a priority of bilateral relations, she said, adding that the cooperation between the two sides is consistent with the interconnectivity of infrastructure, one of the main themes of the G20 summit. “We need to do more to unlock the potential for medium and long-term growth”.
The G-20 meeting also generated notable political activity, mostly out of the public eye.
U.S. secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who met on Sunday to discuss Syria, held a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning but this too ended without an agreement, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. For example, the country faces criticism from the USA and Europe over the flood of steel and other raw materials it has unleashed on global markets.
Xi told South Korea’s President Park Geun-Hye that Beijing opposed the USA deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in her country.
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New Prime Minister Theresa May sought to get a head-start in Hangzhou, meeting Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull who said they have “already been engaged in discussions” on a framework for a trade deal.
