June 27, 2019

As leaders of the world's 20 most eminent economies converge in Osaka for the two-day Group of 20 (G-20) summit, which starts tomorrow, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will face the key task of shepherding the bloc towards an agreement, amid ongoing trade tensions.

This comes as all eyes are on the high-stakes bilateral meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, where a failure to strike at least a truce in the trade war between their two countries could lead to more tit-for-tat tariffs and further cloud the global economic outlook.

Mr Abe, as G-20 chairman, will get to prove his summit diplomacy chops in a powwow that may yet be overshadowed by a host of geopolitical issues - from Brexit to the Hong Kong protests over a controversial extradition Bill, and from North Korean denuclearisation to the Iran nuclear threat, with Mr Trump having nearly green-lit a military strike against Teheran last week.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/trade-tensions-loom-large-over-g-20-summit-in-osaka