Trade, climate change, Iran on minds of G20 leaders
T rade and geopolitical tension — and the looming threat of climate change — are on the agenda as the presidents of the United States and China and other world leaders gather in Osaka for a summit of the Group of Twenty major economies.
While prospects for detente in the trade feud between the U.S. and China are in the spotlight, many participating are calling for a broader perspective in tackling global crises.
“This will be a difficult G20. There are global challenges to be met. We need to step up to avoid the climate threats ... reform the World Trade Organization and prepare for the digital revolution,” Donald Tusk, president of the European Union Council, said at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The summit comes at a time of growing international tension, for example, over Iran’s nuclear deal, as well as disputes between the United States and China over trade and technology.
President Donald Trump arrived Thursday night and is scheduled to meet with China’s president, Xi Jinping, on Saturday as the G20 summit concludes. Accompanying Trump on this trip are Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said China intends to defend itself against further U.S. moves to penalize it over trade friction.
Threats by Trump to impose more tariffs on Chinese exports “won’t work on us because the Chinese people don’t believe in heresy and are not afraid of pressure,” Geng Shuang said.
China has sought to gain support for defending global trade agreements against Trump’s “America First” stance in gatherings such as the G20 summit.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency published a commentary Thursday noting that the G20’s rise to prominence came with leaders’ efforts to contain the damage from the 2008 global financial crisis.
“While the global economic recovery remains fragile, it now encounters a surge of anti-free trade rhetoric and protectionist measures that threaten to upend the rules-based multilateral trading regime,” it said.
Xi met with Abe, the Japanese prime minister, on Thursday night, seeking a breakthrough after years of strain over territorial disputes. This is Xi’s first visit to Japan since he became China’s top leader in 2013.
A visit by Xi to North Korea last week raised hopes for some movement in the impasse with the U.S. over the North’s nuclear program. Trump is scheduled to visit South Korea after leaving Japan, raising speculation there might be more news on Korean issues during his Asian travels.
Trump has at times found himself at odds with other leaders in such international events — particularly on issues such as Iran, climate change and trade.
Abe has sought to make the Osaka summit a landmark for progress on environmental issues, including climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron reinforced that message Wednesday during a state visit to Tokyo, where he described climate change as a “red line” issue for endorsing a G20 communique.
“It’s the moment to be truly in time in the face of history and to fulfill our responsibility,” Macron said. “I will not sign if we don’t go further in our ambition about climate change. That would mean all those summits are for nothing.”