OSAKA: US President Donald Trump set the tone on Thursday for what promises to be a stormy G20 summit by lashing out at friends and foes alike over trade tariffs and foreign policy.
The long-running US-China trade war looked set to dominate the two-day meeting of world leaders in Osaka from Friday but clashes also loomed over climate and hotspots including North Korea and Iran.
On board Air Force One en route to Japan, Trump fired off a characteristically bullish tweet, chiding long-standing ally India for “unacceptable” tariffs on American goods.
“India, for years having put very high Tariffs against the United States, just recently increased the Tariffs even further. This is unacceptable and the Tariffs must be withdrawn,” tweeted Trump.
The US president had earlier taken aim at China, saying Beijing wanted to do a deal because the world’s number-two economy was “going down the tubes”.
Furious at what he sees as an unfair advantage in the trading system, Trump has already hit Beijing with $200 billion in levies on Chinese imports and appeared to threaten more.
“You have another $325 billion that I haven’t taxed yet — it’s ripe for taxing, for putting tariffs on,” he said in an interview with Fox Business Network.
Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in Osaka several hours before Trump in driving rain as a potential typhoon edges towards Japan. The two leaders are expected to meet on Saturday.
Trump touched down just before 7 pm local time, the president clutching an umbrella and walking gingerly down the plane steps.
In Beijing, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said that China’s attitude was “very clear”.
“We consistently oppose the bullying trade tactic of unilaterally slapping on tariffs,” said Gao.
Most experts say a formal deal is unlikely at the summit due to a lack of time to prepare the complex issues involved and believe a ceasefire and commitment to keep talking is the most likely outcome.
“I would be very, very surprised if they could work out all of these complicated disagreements in the next few days,” said David Dollar, a China expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
“I think if Xi Jinping and President Trump have some negotiations... that will have a very positive impact on the world economy,” Naoyuki Yoshino, head of the Asian Development Bank Institute, said.
While US-China trade is likely to dominate the meeting, world leaders are also facing a perfect storm of geopolitical hotspots from Iran to North Korea and Venezuela.
Tensions with Tehran are at fever pitch after Trump pulled back from military action at the last minute in response to the downing of an unmanned US drone. Before leaving for the G20, Trump said he did not seek conflict with the long-time US foe but warned it “wouldn’t last very long” if war did break out.
Iran will be one of several topics when Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the meeting, along with arms control, the crisis in Venezuela, and Ukraine. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
