G-20 finance heads’ meeting to focus on US-China trade row

April 17, 2018

Tokyo- The escalating US-China trade conflict and its impact on the global market and economy are likely to be a key issue at a two-day Group of 20 meeting in Washington from Thursday.

The finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the G-20 advanced and emerging economies are also expected to discuss growing tensions between the United States and Russia over Syria, as well as the issue of cryptocurrencies.

The G-20 officials are unlikely to issue a statement this time, only a month after their previous meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Washington meeting will take place alongside sessions of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

At the March meeting, participants reaffirmed the G-20 leaders' commitment, made in July last year, to "continue to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices."

The G-20 finance chiefs went a step further than their leaders by calling for "further dialogue and actions."

Just after the meeting, however, the United States invoked fresh tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a move mainly targeting China. Beijing has responded by announcing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports.

Washington also announced trade sanctions against Beijing over its alleged violation of intellectual property rights, accusing Beijing of engaging in unfair trade practices. China has called the U.S. unilateral measure unfair.

As it has been only one month since the previous gathering, the G-20 officials may not hold in-depth discussions on how to ease the deepening rift.

Nevertheless, how much participants can deepen their discussions will be important ahead of their next meeting scheduled for July in Argentina.

From Japan, Finance Minister Taro Aso, who skipped the previous meeting, and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda are seen attending the Washington meeting. Jiji Press