G20 Summit 2019: All the latest updates

The annual summit of the Group of 20 nations is under way in Osaka, Japan. At the top of the agenda is the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, the world’s two biggest economies.

The G20 is an international leaders’ forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union.

Collectively, the grouping represents more than 80 percent of the world’s economic output and two-thirds of its people. Its primary aim is to promote international financial stability.

Here are the latest updates:

Friday, June 28:

Climate change divides G20 nations

The US is trying to get G20 leaders to soften their stance against climate change. But that’s fiercely rejected by EU countries. French President Emmanuel Macron said that removing any reference to the Paris deal in the final statement would be a red line for him.

And here’s climate activists in Osaka protesting against the G20 nations’ tripling of aid for coal power.

World leaders need to really listen – there is no such thing as clean coal!

As politicians gather for the #G20 in Osaka, communities are clear – it’s time for Japan to stop funding coal around the world. @350_Japan #NoCoalJapan pic.twitter.com/lmGFTQhwan

— 350 dot org (@350) June 28, 2019

Trump-Putin meeting

Donald Trump has met Russian President Vladimir Putin. Al Jazeera’s James Bays was also there:

“There are many key issues these two countries differ on. And certainly if you were to speak privately to military commanders in the US, they say they are deeply concerned about Russia, and Russia’s threats in Ukraine, Russia’s involvement in Syria, Russia trying to pull out of some treaties governing nuclear relations between the two.

“It is a tense time, but not a tense relationship, it seems, between the two leaders.”

Over the clatter of photographers’ cameras, a reporter asked Trump if he was going to tell Putin not to meddle in US elections in the future. Trump replied: “Yes, of course I will.” He then turned to Putin with a smile and said, “Don’t meddle with the election, please!”

Here are our top story picks on G20:

Deal or no deal? Risks of deepening trade war loom at G20 talks

Christmas cancelled: Chinese factories feel chill of US trade

‘A lot of us lose sleep’: US farmers reel as trade war drags on

Who pays for Trump’s tariffs: US consumers, companies, or China?

Focus on technology and data

After the photo session, leaders attended the “Side-Event on Digital Economy”.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “fair, just, and non-discriminatory market environment” and added that “data to the digital economy is the same as oil to industrial economies”.

President Trump’s comments struck a more cautious note: “At the same time as we expand digital trade, we must also ensure the resilience and security of our 5G network,” he said.

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) June 28, 2019

One of the sticking points in the US-China trade war is the move by Trump to bar US companies from selling key components like computer chips to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, a leader in the latest 5G mobile phone technology, on national security grounds.

Trade war damages global growth

EU leaders on Friday warned of the damage that escalating US-China trade frictions was inflicting on the global economy, as the summit got under way.

The US-China trade relations are “difficult” and contributing to a slowdown in the global economy, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference, Reuters reported.

He also said the EU was working closely with the US, China and Japan on reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke about the need to reform the WTO.

The development of the global economy is largely driven by one-sided decisions and disputes felt by the entire system, he said.

“We should still focus on the World Trade Organization reform to achieve balanced development of the global economy and so this growth is open to everyone,” Modi told a meeting of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, collectively known as the BRICS countries, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. 

No awkward moments for Saudi crown prince

Al Jazeera’s James Bays on how the Japanese have avoided upsetting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at this year’s G20:

“It’s worth noting that the last time there was a G20 in Buenos Aires, the family photo focused on him because there were some that wouldn’t shake his hand.

“I think the Japanese organisers knew that was embarrassing for Saudi Arabia, and we’ve seen that some of the shots of the various leaders walking together to the family photo were kept very, very wide.

“You couldn’t really make anyone out, so that, I think, the moments when people were looking rather coldly towards others or weren’t shaking hands weren’t really evident to us.”

China’s Xi says Gulf region is at a ‘crossroads’

Chinese President Xi said on Friday the Gulf region is now in a very sensitive situation and is “standing at a crossroads of war and peace”, state media reported.

China always stands on the side of peace and opposes war, Xi told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, state news agency Xinhua said.

‘A fantastic woman’

After his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and India’s Modi, President Trump had a bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he called “a fantastic person, a fantastic woman.”

Subjects discussed included Iran, Libya, supporting the economy of Ukraine, trade negotiations with China, and global trade standards more generally.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Abe greeted each of the G20 leaders one-by-one.

Trump’s ‘good cop, bad cop’ act

Mason Richey, a professor of international relations at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, tells Al Jazeera: “I think that Trump is going to be interested in playing up the positive side of the relationships that the US has with allies and strategic partners whether that be Japan, or whether that be NATO or whether that be India.

“And I think in some ways he’s perhaps playing good-cop-bad-cop with himself. He’s played bad cop with Japan and India on security issues and on trade issues. And now he’s a there playing up the positive side of the relationship, talking about how close the US relationship is with India and Japan.”

Trump, Modi and Abe meet

President Trump arrived at the G20 summit venue by car and was greeted by Prime Minister Abe, the host.

“We’ll be discussing trade, we’ll be discussing military,” Trump told reporters, praising Japanese auto companies building plants in the US.

“The car companies have been terrific. They’re coming in and they’re building magnificent plants. We haven’t had that, and we very much appreciate it.”

North Korea, Iran, and bilateral trade were issues raised in the discussions, though few details were offered.

Later, Indian Prime Minister Modi joined for a trilateral meeting. Abe described the grouping as “the foundation of peace and prosperity in the region”.

As for US-India trade talks, Trump declared, “It’ll be very positive … I think we will just continue to get along with India … I think we are going to have some very big things to announce. Very big trade deal.”

In a tweet on Thursday, Trump said Indian tariffs on US products were “unacceptable”.

A behind-the-scenes look as President @RealDonaldTrump meets with Prime Minister Abe at the G20: pic.twitter.com/NsP9dteZEF

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 28, 2019

Earlier this month, India imposed higher retaliatory tariffs on 28 US goods such as walnuts, almonds and apples.

That was in retaliation for Trump’s move to scrap trade privileges under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India, the biggest beneficiary of a scheme that allowed duty-free exports of up to $5.6bn a year.

Speaking of Iran, Trump stated, “We have a lot of time – there’s no rush they can take their time. There is absolutely no time pressure. Hopefully in the end it’s going to work out. If it does, great, if it doesn’t, you‘ll be hearing about it.”