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China, US officials in airport tarmac stoush: Obama plays down tiff

But he acknowledges that leaders are challenged by what he calls “gaps of trust” between the rival powers.

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The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But Obama “suggested the US has concerns about Russian Federation holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms”, the wire service writes. For months, he said, Russian Federation has been asking the Americans for “a real, genuine demarcation between terrorists and the so-called opposition”.

HANGZHOU, China U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the United States had to move in concert with other countries on the issue of tax avoidance, as some U.S. allies were “racing to the bottom” with their tax policies.

The global economy is facing a threat due to rising protectionism and risks from highly leveraged financial markets, Chinese President Xi Jinping said as a G20 summit began in Hangzhou on Sunday.

A White House spokesman said the leaders were reviewing the situation after a new truce took effect last week.

Later in the evening, after holding a ceremony to announce China and the United States joining the Paris Agreement on climate change, and holding wide-ranging bilateral talks for more than three-and-a-half hours, tensions rose again.

Obama reassured Prime Minister May that Britain’s closest political, commercial and military ally would stand by her, but did not shrink away from his stance that Brexit was a mistake and that London would not be able to jump the queue to arrange a bilateral deal.

For Obama, a military partnership with Russian Federation would mark a significant change. Both Defence Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper have expressed misgivings about sharing intelligence and targeting information with Moscow.

Putin insisted he believed a deal with Washington could be firmed up in the “coming days” but refused to give concrete details, saying that United States and Russian officials are still “working out some of our preliminary agreements”.

Heated arguments began before President Barack Obama even landed in China for the G20 summit on Saturday, and things just got worse when he did.

China and the USA produce a combined 38 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Quarrels with Chinese officials broke out on the tarmac and at other venues over access by USA officials and reporters.

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 worldwide tribunal’s ruling against China over the South China Sea.

The Prime Minister’s Office says he had five sit-down meetings on the sidelines of the summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the European Union, the OECD and Singapore.

When the White House official insisted the USA would set the rules for its own leader, her Chinese counterpart shot back.

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Confrontations between Chinese officials and White House staff and other diplomatic dust-ups were out in the open from the moment Air Force One landed in Hangzhou, where world leaders were attending an economic summit. His next stop is Laos, where he’ll promote his effort to deepen ties to Southeast Asia.

Amid struggle for Syria deal, Obama and Putin to meet Monday