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The challenges facing key players at G20 summit
BUENOS AIRES, Nov 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Global leaders gather in the
Argentine capital for a G20 summit beginning on Friday likely to be dominated
by simmering international tensions over trade.
Here is a quick guide to what’s at stake for the main players.
– United States –
US President Donald Trump, who has little interest in multilateral
diplomacy, is coming to the Group of 20 summit for high-pressure talks with
his counterparts in China and Russia.
Trump has cast his Buenos Aires meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
as a deadline for Beijing to cave on key trade disputes or risk even further
sanctions and pressure. The G20 will also mark Trump’s first substantive
talks wth Russian President Vladimir Putin since a July summit in Helsinki,
where the US leader’s deferential tone drew wide rebuke at home.
Trump has resisted once-routine global calls to fight protectionism and in
June took the extraordinary step of refusing to sign a statement at a summit
of the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies, furious at host Canada
over trade disputes.
– China –
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet Trump to seek to break an
impasse of their trade war on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Xi has cast himself as a defender of globalization and opponent of
protectionism, but US and European governments say foreign companies still
face many hurdles to do business in the Communist-ruled country, including
the forced transfer of technology or outright theft of intellectual property.
– Britain –
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s appearance is overshadowed by Brexit
and in particular her attempt to convince lawmakers to ratify her agreement
with the EU.
The crucial vote, which could also decide the fate of her premiership, is
due to be held on December 11.
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She is widely expected to lose the vote because of fierce opposition from
Brexiteer lawmakers within her own Conservative Party, who say it makes too
many concessions to Brussels, and pro-EU MPs who say it will devastate the
British economy.
May became prime minister in July 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit
referendum and has clung to power despite losing her parliamentary majority
in elections in 2017.
She wants post-Brexit Britain to take a leading role on the global stage
as an independent trading nation but critics say her country’s influence will
wane outside of the EU.
– Turkey –
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seek to use the summit to
again project his image on the international stage as a champion of the poor
and oppressed as well as an un-ignorable figure in international diplomacy.
The G20 is a crucial forum for Turkey as it seeks to build ties with key
African and Latin American nations to assure its status as a global power.
Erdogan is also likely to press for justice on causes close to his heart
such as the Palestinians or the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
But the main focus could be on the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi
in Istanbul, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at whom Turkish
pro-government media have pointed the finger of blame over the killing,
expected to also attend. Erdogan and the prince have not met face to face
since the crisis erupted.
– Argentina –
Argentina’s Prime Minister Mauricio Macri welcomes world leaders while his
country has been brought its knees by an economic crisis which forced him to
seek a massive International Monetary Fund bailout. Hit by recession and 45
percent inflation, the center-right leader’s chances of building a strong
challenge for a second term in next year’s elections look slim.
Deep public spending cuts have sparked a wave of strikes and street
protests and Macri’s problems have been exacerbated by a falling peso and a
dip in the price of soybeans, Argentina’s star export.
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– Brazil –
With lame duck President Michel Temer in the waning days of his
presidency, all eyes are on his far-right successor Jail Bolsonaro, who takes
office on January 1. Bolsonaro will be conspicuous by his absence however,
declining Temer’s invitation to attend on the grounds that he is still
recovering from being stabbed and seriously injured during his election
campaign. However, some of his top aides are expected to attend and hold
their first meetings with the entourages of like-minded protectionist
leaders, like Donald Trump.
– Russia –
President Vladimir Putin arrives in Buenos Aires amid accusations from
Ukraine that he’s preparing for a full-scale war after Russia shot at and
captured three of Kiev’s ships.
Putin will have a face-to-face meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the
summit, amid ongoing accusations that Russia colluded with Trump’s campaign
team during his 2016 presidential election win.
In power since 1999, Putin is an old hand at international summits and
increasingly influential, with his country at the heart of major issues like
the war in Syria, EU sanctions or tensions with Ukraine and Washington.
– Saudi Arabia –
The crown prince is expected to represent Riyadh in the face of a global
outcry over Khashoggi’s murder.
The Gulf state’s de facto ruler is likely to face Turkey’s Erdogan, who
has kept international pressure mounting on the kingdom over the grisly
killing in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
The summit would also be an opportunity for the prince to discuss energy
markets with leaders of other top oil producers — notably Russia and the
United States — amid the current slump in oil prices.
Saudi Arabia is set to host the G-20 summit in 2020.
– South Africa –
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to power this year, is
a firm supporter of multilateralism and the WTO, often underlining his
commitment to international cooperation when speaking at home and abroad.
Facing a tricky election in May, he hopes the G20 summit will help his
efforts to attract $100 billion of foreign investment over five years to
boost the country’s flagging economy and tackle record unemployment of nearly
28 percent.
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