BRICS slam protectionism as China-U.S. spat overshadows G20 talks

By Trend

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of major developing economies condemned protectionism at a G20 summit in Argentina on Friday overshadowed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to escalate tariffs on China, Reuters reports.

This year’s two-day gathering is a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

With a rise in nationalist sentiment in many countries, the G20 - which accounts for two-thirds of the global population - faces questions over its ability to deal with trade tensions, which have roiled global markets.

Hanging over the summit in Buenos Aires is the trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars on each other’s imports after Trump launched an effort to correct what he views as China’s unfair commercial practices.

Global financial markets will take their lead next week from the outcome of talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping over dinner on Saturday, aimed at resolving differences that are weighing on global economic growth.

Xi and leaders from the BRICS group of leading emerging economies - which comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - issued a statement calling for open international trade and a strengthening of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“The spirit and rules of the WTO run counter to unilateral and protectionist measures,” they said. “We call on all members to oppose such WTO-inconsistent measures, stand by their commitments undertaken in the WTO.”

Beijing hopes to persuade Trump to abandon plans to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent in January, from 10 percent at present.

U.S. stocks seesawed between slight gains and losses on Friday, as investors kept away from making big bets ahead of Saturday’s talks.

Trump said on Friday there were some positive signs.

“We’re working very hard. If we could make a deal that would be good. I think they want to. I think we’d like to. We’ll see,” he said, speaking during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

A Chinese foreign ministry official in Buenos Aires said there were signs of increasing consensus ahead of the discussions but that differences remained.