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Will Upcoming G20 Summit Talks Improve Sino/US Relations?

Written by Subject: G20 Summits

Will Upcoming G20 Summit Talks Improve Sino/US Relations?

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Trump and China's Xi Jinping will likely meet on the sidelines of the June 28-29 G20 summit in Osaka, Japan — though no formal meeting was arranged so far.

When both leaders last met at the November 30-December 1 G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, they agreed on a 90-day truce to continue discussing major irreconcilable differences between both countries.

Following their meeting, a statement by Trump and Xi omitted details of their discussion. Pledges both countries made lacked specifics.

Beijing agreed to purchase a "very substantial amount of agricultural, energy, industrial, and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance between our two countries."

Trump warned of higher tariffs if China doesn't bend to his will. Both sides boasted of successful talks, achieving nothing as things turned out.

Nearly seven months later, bilateral differences are more world's apart than last year over unacceptable US demands.

Will Trump and Xi reach accommodation by face-to-face talks this time? DJT earlier said if he doesn't show up, he'll impose 25% tariffs on all Chinese imports, greatly escalating trade war if he goes this far.

On Friday, he said "it doesn't matter" if Xi attends or not. "If he shows up, good. If he doesn't — in the meantime, we're taking in billions of dollars a month (in tariffs) from China," largely paid for by business and consumers.

According to former Trump trade advisor Clete Willems, "(t)here won't be a deal at the G20," but Xi and DJT meeting could "catalyze a productive period of negotiations where the deal closes."

Resolving bilateral differences depends on softened US demands, polar opposite what's happened in talks since last year, Trump regime negotiators raising the bar instead of lowering it while refusing to back off from waging tariffs war.

Immediately preceding and right after the June summit, Osaka will be on near-lockdown for a four-day period.

Around 25,000 Japanese police and other security forces will protect the summit venue and surrounding areas.

According to the Japan Times, nine parts of the city will be subject to "heavy traffic restrictions…"

"Access to train stations will be difficult. Roads will be temporarily blocked" for VIP motorcades. "(C)oin lockers and trash cans will be shut and many businesses will close." 

"Foreign nationals in train stations with suitcases and backpacks may find themselves stopped by police and asked about the purpose of their Osaka visit."

Media warned city residents to expect disruptions to their daily lives from June 27 to the 30th. All this mass inconvenience is for a talking shop achieving little or nothing each time these summits are held.

Whatever is announced at their conclusion was agreed on in advance. Ahead of the Osaka,  G20 summit, official Chinese media warned that Beijing's countermeasures against unacceptable US actions could "become routine," bilateral relations worsening without resolution of major differences.

According to China's social media Taoran Notes affiliated with the state run Economic Daily, "(i)f the US side can return to the starting point of the consensus reached by the leaders in Argentina and substantially address China's core concerns with equal treatment and mutual respect, the likelihood of negotiations will obviously get bigger."

If the Trump regime sticks to "maximum pressure," talks between DJT and Xi will accomplish nothing.

Beijing's official broadsheet the People's Daily accused the US of "breaking promises." Trump's MAGA agenda is all about what serves US interests the expense of other countries.

A WTO report called the US the world's leading rules breaker. In late May at the 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad slammed the US, saying:

It "wants to have a situation where it's always ahead and when (it's) not ahead, (it'll) ban you and send warships to your country. That is not competition (or playing by the rules). That is threatening people."

The US refuses to accept the reality of increasing multi-world polarity. Sovereign rights of all nations matter, not one alone exploiting others.

Days earlier, Russia and China agreed to increasingly trade in their own currencies, a draft decree saying the following:

"(S)ettlements and payments for goods, services, and direct investments between economic entities of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are made in accordance with the international practice and the legislation of the sides' states with the use of foreign currency, the Russian currency (rubles) and the Chinese currency (yuan)," adding:

"The sides deepen the cooperation in the field of national payment card systems and within the framework of the Russian and Chinese legislation provide support to commercial banks in their independent decision-making on joining the payment system in the state of the other side."

Both nations are increasingly de-dollarizing, an idea whose time has come. Dollar hegemony as the world's reserve currency facilitates US global dominance.

It finances Washington's reckless spending, global militarism, its empire of bases, endless wars, corporate takeovers, as well as speculative excesses creating bubbles and economic crises – at the expense of democratic freedoms and beneficial social change.

Nations trading in dollars and buying US investments and bonds finance its hegemonic agenda. Putin earlier slammed US dollar dominance, aiming to counter it saying:

"Russia shares the BRICS countries' concerns over the unfairness of the global financial and economic architecture, which does not give due regard to the growing weight of the emerging economies." 

"We are ready to work together with our partners to promote international financial regulation reforms and to overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies."

Dollar hegemony's days are far from over, but important steps taken by China, Russia, and other nations head things for reducing its dominance, hopefully one day eliminating it.

Weaponized US sanctions and tariffs likely advance things in this direction.

China and Russia intend "to actively promote the use of national currencies in bilateral trade and investment financing, facilitate trade, and create favorable environment for investment of economic entities" of both countries.

This logical step is an idea other nations should follow. 

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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