Monday, December 3, 2018

US-China trade war on pause as G20 wraps up in Buenos Aires


The US and China have hit the pause button on their trade war after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for dinner on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Despite Washington and Beijing finding some common ground, there are questions over what else was achieved at the annual meeting of world leaders.

Our correspondent Giles Gibson has more:

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UPSOT Cameras clicking
It was all smiles for the cameras as world leaders posed for the traditional family photo.

But after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this year, and a new flare up in tensions between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea, that family atmosphere couldn't last long.

Some Presidents and Prime Ministers kept their distance from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

And France's leader Emmanuel Macron appeared to take him to task ....

UPSOT Macron talking to MBS

...captured in this tense exchange with the man known as MBS in a video by a Saudi Arabian daily newspaper.

"You never listen to me," he appears to whisper.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't seem to have got the memo, smiling and giving the Saudi Crown Prince a high five that reverberated around the world.

UPSOT Trump speaking at dinner

Meanwhile the world's markets are breathing a sigh of relief for now, after President Trump agreed to delay raising tariffs on Chinese goods for 90 days over a steak dinner with his counterpart, Xi Jinping.

As the summit drew to a close, the members reaffirmed their commitment to a "rules-based international order" in the official communique,

But analysts watching on the sidelines say the document lacks detail.

Helene Emorine is the Co-Chair of the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto:

SOT Helene Emorine, Co-Chair G20 Research Group
"It is a little bit watered down, it is a little bit of "boiler plate" language and really the lowest common denominator. We don't have any strong commitments against protectionism but what we do have are some important commitments with regards to infrastructure, food sustainability, the future of work, as well as including gender throughout the agenda of the G20."

And as organizers in Argentina pack up, the world's attention has already shifted to crucial COP24 climate change talks kicking off in Poland.

Giles Gibson, Washington