What to expect from the G20 Buenos Aires 2018 | USA News

All eyes will be on Buenos Aires, Argentina on Thursday and Friday, as leaders of 19 of the world's largest economies, as well as representatives of the European Union, gather for the 13th G20 summit.

This year's meeting coincides with the intensification of tensions between China and the United States over trade disputes, the intensification of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and mounting pressure for that the Saudi Crown Prince is detained Mohammed bin Salman to explain the murder of the writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Here's what you should watch for at this year's summit:

Who will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman?

The Saudi Crown Prince, also known as the MBS, landed Wednesday in Buenos Aires, two days before the start of the G20.

This will be his first opportunity to meet Western leaders since the badbadination of Saudi journalist Khashoggi in Turkey. After having presented several contradictory testimonies, the kingdom admitted last month that Khashoggi was killed in his consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd and that his body had been dismembered.

Riyadh said that Prince Mohammed was not aware of the murder, which would have been ordered by Turkey at the highest level of Saudi leadership. Erdogan excluded King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, however.

The badbadination has severely strained relations between Saudi Arabia and several other countries, with human rights groups and politicians calling on Prince Mohammed to be held accountable.

Human Rights Watch submitted an application to Argentina's federal judge on Monday, asking the country to open an investigation into Prince Mohammed for war crimes in Yemen and the badbadination of Khashoggi. On Wednesday, a judge asked the Argentine Foreign Ministry to request information from Turkey, Yemen and the International Criminal Court.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the few leaders to meet Prince Mohammed.

The two men will discuss Khashoggi's badbadination, but the "main goal" would be to develop Russian-Saudi relations, said Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told German daily Sueffeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday that Prince Mohammed had asked to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip at the summit.

The UN secretary general said on Wednesday that he was ready to meet with Prince Mohammed at the summit to discuss the end of the war in Yemen.

On Tuesday, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said that he was not planning to hold a meeting between MBS and President Donald Trump at the summit. Sarah Sanders, press secretary at the White House, said she could not rule out a possible interaction between MBS and Trump at the top.

Although Trump admitted last week that Prince Mohammed was made aware of the badbadination, the US president said the United States would remain an "unwavering partner" of the kingdom. The United States imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi nationals allegedly involved in the killing of Khashoggi.

Rights groups also promised to demonstrate against Prince Mohammed's appearance at the G20.

2. Trump-Xi meeting: Will there be a breakthrough?

Trump will hold a dinner Saturday for his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, where the two men should try to reach a compromise on trade.

This will be the first meeting of the leaders of the world's largest economies since Washington imposed a $ 250 billion tariff on Chinese imports and China responded with its own measures.

China hopes to convince Washington not to raise its tariffs by 25% to 10% on January 1st.

Although officials from both countries expressed skepticism, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Tuesday that the summit offered "an opportunity to break with the disappointing discussions" of recent months.

"According to him, there is a good chance that an agreement can be reached and [Trump] is open to that, "Kudlow told reporters.

But Kudlow warned that if the conditions are not met on a number of issues, including the theft of intellectual property and other practices, the president is willing to raise tariffs on imports from China.

For China, the Beijing ambbadador to Washington said Tuesday that his country was participating in the G20 in the hope of an agreement, but warning of the dire consequences if US extremists were trying to separate the two economies .

S addressing the Reuters news agency before joining Chinese President Xi Jinping's delegation to the G20, Cui Tiankai said that China and the United States shared the responsibility of cooperating in the United States. interest of the world economy.

When asked when he thought the hard-core White House was trying to separate the tightly-bound economies of the United States and China, Cui said he did not think that he was going to be able to do anything. it is possible or useful to do it. – the impact, the negative impact – if there is such a decoupling. "

"The lessons of history are still there.In the last century we had two world wars, and between them, the Great Depression.I do not think anyone should really try to repeat the story. things should never happen again, so people have to act responsibly. "

3. Doubts about the Trump-Putin meeting

Trump recently questioned his meeting with the Russian president.

The two men are scheduled to meet on Saturday, but Trump announced on Tuesday that he could cancel the meeting due to escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Kiev declared martial law in several parts of the country this week after Russia seized three Ukrainian ships near the Crimean peninsula.

"Maybe I will not have the meeting," Trump told the Washington Post. "Maybe I will not even have the meeting … I do not like this aggression, I do not want this aggression at all," he said.

Responding to Trump's comment, a Kremlin aide said on Wednesday that the United States should speak through established channels, not the media. The Kremlin also said it expects the meeting between the two leaders to continue.

S addressing NBC News, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that he wanted Trump to convey a message to Putin in Argentina: "Get out of Ukraine, Mr. Putin."

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and now controls both sides of the Kerch Strait where the incident occurred.

If the Trump-Putin meeting is held, both parties are expected to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty after Trump announced in October that the US would cancel the deal because Russia does not did not respect.

On Tuesday, US National Security Advisor Bolton said he thought the Trump-Putin meeting would be a continuation of their talks in Helsinki.

At the closed meeting in July, the two leaders said they discussed issues including international security and trade.

The Helsinki summit was however overshadowed when Trump failed to blame Putin for his interference in the US elections. He was then forced to admit that he had been misquoted and to state that he accepted the badessment of the intelligence community that Russia had been there. mingled with the 2016 presidential election.

4. "No to the G20": anti-capitalist and other demonstrations are expected

As with other G20 summits, anti-capitalist and other demonstrations are expected throughout the conference.

Major events will begin Wednesday with the People's Summit. Participants in the alternative meeting will discuss a number of issues ranging from food security to how to tackle climate change. The People's Summit will continue until Friday when a major event is expected.

The mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a group of women whose children and grandchildren have disappeared during the dirty war in Argentina, are also expected to demonstrate on Thursday.

Rights groups also intend to protest the possible appearance of Saudi Prince Mohammed on the role of the kingdom in Yemen and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

Argentina declared Friday holiday and suspended rail service Friday and Saturday.

The government, which faces almost daily protests against its economic austerity program, has pledged to crack down on protests, saying "illegal acts" will not be allowed.

The demonstration will be guarded by 22,000 policemen and 700 agents of the Ministry of Security. The government has been in contact with several foreign security services, including the United States, Britain, Brazil, Italy and Spain, Public Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told reporters. Tuesday,

Bullrich also told local media that residents had to leave the city until the end of the summit.

5. Signature of the USMCA

The United States, Mexico and Canada are expected to sign a revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Friday, the so-called United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The agreement, announced in October, updates the 1994 agreement with NAFTA and promises to create "freer and more equitable markets and robust economic growth".

It is unclear who will sign the agreement on behalf of each country. Canadian media reported Tuesday that the final text of the agreement was also under development.

If the agreement is signed, it will then be sent to each of the legislatures of the country where it will have to be ratified before it can enter into force.

6. May to look for a business future after Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May will use the G20 to sell the UK's commercial future after Brexit out of the EU.

But Trump did not do him any service by mocking a hard-bargaining deal between London and Brussels.

After a year and a half of tough negotiations, the 27 leaders took less than half an hour to approve Sunday a 600-page treaty setting the terms for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union March 29 and a 26-page statement outlining the ambitions of a future free trade relationship.

May is now faced with the daunting task of gaining parliamentary support for the agreement, which predicts that London will follow many European rules to maintain easy access to trade, the British leader is expected to face stiff resistance in the coming weeks from supporters and opponents of Brexit in his government and government. other opposition parties.

Follow all the latest G20 updates here.