Disharmony at global summit
G20 meeting of leaders stumbles on trade and climate
Divisions among the world’s top economies emerged from the moment their leaders gathered yesterday in Argentina: Donald Trump struck his own deals and angered allies, and the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia bonded amid criticism from European powers.
United States negotiators blocked progress at the Group of 20 summit on managing migration, slowing climate change and streamlining how world trade is governed, according to European officials.
Security concerns also weighed on the two-day talks in Buenos Aires. Argentina's security minister said eight gasoline bombs were discovered in an area of the capital several miles from the summit venue where a protest in the afternoon drew thousands of demonstrators who held up banners with slogans like “Go away G-20” and “Go away Trump”.
The point of the G20 — formed in the wake of the global financial crisis a decade ago — is finding ways to solve global problems together, but diplomats struggled to find enough things all leaders agree on.
Trump used the summit to make his own deals — signing a new North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico — and angered the Argentine hosts by misconstruing their position on China's trade practices.
Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — appeared to bond with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat at a huge round table for talks.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri began the summit by acknowledging divisions within the G-20 while urging world leaders to have a “sense of urgency” and take actions “based on shared interests”.
Diplomats were haggling hard over a final summit statement, with deep divisions over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation.
The G20 summit is meant to focus on issues such as labour infrastructure, development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international commerce, but was overshadowed by contentious matters from the US-China trade dispute to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the slaying of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump cancelled his meeting with Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived late after her plane suffered a problem. British Prime Minister Theresa May's attendance was the first time a UK prime minister has visited Argentina's capital.
Argentina is the first South American country to host the G-20.