TOKYO - Concerns over trade, conflict and oil will dominate a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Japan this weekend, with attention focused on a meeting between the leaders of the United States and China, embroiled in a lengthy trade war.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet for the first time in seven months to discuss deteriorating ties between the world's two largest economies. But prospects of progress look slim, as neither side has given ground after talks broke down in May.
Many G20 members have a stake in the outcome because the row has disrupted global supply chains, slowed world growth and stirred expectations of interest rate cuts or other stimulus measures by some of the group's central banks.
But some have expressed disquiet that the trade row might overshadow efforts to tackle pressing international issues.
The Sino-US trade clash is "serious", but it shouldn't "take a multilateral body hostage", said an official of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Elysee office.
Trump will arrive in Osaka just a week after calling off a retaliatory air strike on Iran after it shot down an unmanned U.S. aircraft. The threat of a Middle East conflict has driven up global oil prices.
Financial markets have rallied since Trump and Xi spoke by telephone last week and agreed to meet in Osaka and revive trade talks that collapsed in early May, after the United States accused China of reneging on its pledges.
The two sides have slapped tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other's imports in the nearly year-long trade war, even as they have tried to hammer out a broad trade deal.
Trump views his meeting with Xi, probably to be held on Saturday, as a chance to see where Beijing stands and is "comfortable with any outcome", a senior U.S. official said, on condition of anonymity.
White House officials have declined to discuss expectations ahead of the summit, saying only they are hopeful for Chinese leaders to follow through on commitments to compete fairly.
Beijing counters that US demands for a host of economic reforms amount to a violation of its sovereignty.
Publicly, Chinese officials say the trade war's effects are controllable and they are in no hurry to reach a deal.
Many in Beijing hope the 2020 US election campaign could deter Trump from further trade measures that risk upsetting farmers and businesses.
"Right now we feel, actually, that we have more stamina than the US side," said Liang Ming, a trade expert at the Chinese commerce ministry's Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. -Reuters
