U.S. President Donald Trump
The leaders of the world's top economies gathered in Argentina on Friday for talks overshadowed by a U.S.-China trade war that has roiled global markets, bracing for the kind of geopolitical drama U.S. President Donald Trump often brings to the international stage.
The two-day annual gathering will be a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades. With a rise in nationalist sentiment in many countries, the group faces questions over its ability to deal with the latest round of crises.
Overhanging the summit in Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, is a trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each other’s imports.
All eyes will be on a planned dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday to see whether they can make progress toward resolving differences threatening the global economy.
The 1.5 million “prisoners,” a million of whom are Uighur Muslims, locked up in China’s “vocational training centers” in Xinjiang are subject to such severe indoctrination and security measures that “some are tortured and die there,” the Bitter Winter online magazine reported on Monday.The report is based on a video published by Bitter Winter on Nov. 26 that delves inside one of the centers in the Yining area of Xinjiang.The video shows a complex with various buildings, each four stories tall. The windows are barred and also have netting. Each exit is monitored by three surveillance cameras. The inside of the buildings are highly reminiscent of typical prisons.“Each room has double iron doors, and the outermost iron door also has guard railing and a keypad lock. Up to 15 people can live in each dorm. Surveying has also revealed that each floor holds 28 dorm rooms and three classrooms,” the Bitter Winter reported. The building shown in the shocking video also reveals a surveillance room. “From the large-screen monitor, it is apparent that 360-degree surveillance cameras are installed in every corner of the building—including not only classrooms, dormitories and corridors, but even washrooms. Every move by the detainees is monitored, 24 hours a day. They are totally deprived of freedom and privacy.”The draconian security measures are used to keep people inside and prevent them from escaping. The building is also littered with propaganda aimed at assimilating those being held.“A slogan is written on the external walls of the buildings, which reads: ‘Heartfelt thanks for the cordial care of the [Chinese Communist] Party’s central committee, with comrade Xi Jinping as the core,’” the Bitter Winter reported. “Various slogans are written on the walls outside of the classrooms, such as: ‘Make a habit of studying Mandarin’ (intended for Uyghurs, who normally do not speak Mandarin but only their own Uyghur language) and ‘Follow the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and untiringly strive to achieve the dream of the people of China to bring about a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.’”Many refer to China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region -- home to many ethnic minority groups, including Turkic Uighur people -- as East Turkestan.They believe that the Uighur are among a number of Turkic tribes that inhabit the region, and consider it to be part of Central Asia, not China. Established under the pretext of “political reeducation” for China’s Muslim population, Beijing has amped up its construction of detention camps in the past three months, expanding them by an additional 700,000 square meters, according to satellite imagery.China’s Muslim incarceration camps have attracted heavy criticism from the international community as Beijing continually denied their existence and repeatedly rejected allegations of abuses against the country’s Uighur minority for years, opting to call them “vocational camps” instead.Xinjiang region is home to around 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group which makes up around 45 percent of the population of Xinjiang, has long accused China’s authorities for cultural, religious and economic discrimination.Scholars condemn China for mass detention of Muslim UighursIn rare coordinated move, Western envoys seek meeting on Xinjiang concernsGermany cannot accept China’s camps for Uighur MuslimsChina says world should ignore 'gossip' about XinjiangChina triples spending to expand detention camps for Uighur Muslims
China’s ‘vocational camps’ employ draconian measures, use 360-degree surveillance in washrooms
Beijing hopes to persuade Trump to abandon plans to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent in January, from 10 percent at present.
"We hope the U.S. can show sincerity and meet China half way, to promote a proposal that both countries can accept," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a briefing in Beijing.
Speaking in Buenos Aires, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would be surprised if the dinner was not a success, but it would depend entirely on the two presidents.
On the eve of the summit, G20 member nations were still trying to reach agreement on major issues including trade, migration and climate change that in past years have been worked out well in advance.
China said on Friday it had lodged "stern representations" with the United States after the U.S. Navy sailed a ship through the contested South China Sea, passing near islands claimed by China.Tension between the two powers in disputed Asian waters comes as their relationship has between strained by a row over trade involving increasingly severe rounds of tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's imports.China hopes US shows sincerity at G20 trade talksThe U.S. guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville sailed near the Paracel Islands on Monday to challenge China's "excessive maritime claims", the U.S. Pacific fleet said in a statement.China claims "irrefutable" sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and the islands in it, and accuses the United States of raising military tension with its navy presence there.Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim parts of the waterway, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes each year. Taiwan also claims the waters.Two Chinese trade union officials arrested after helping workersChina says it hopes US can show sincerity on trade
China has 'stern' words with US over ship in South China Sea
Trump's skepticism that global warming is caused by human activity has raised questions about whether the countries will be able to reach enough consensus on climate change to include it in the summit’s final communique.
Earlier this month, officials from countries attending a major Asia-Pacific summit failed to issue a joint statement for the first time after the U.S. delegation clashed with China over trade and security.
However, delegates to the talks in Buenos Aires said good progress had been made on economic sections of the statement overnight. Argentina's presidency voiced optimism consensus would be reached on a draft.
"As this is a difficult moment for international cooperation, I would like to appeal to the leaders to use this summit ... to seriously discuss real issues such as trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and the Russian aggression in Ukraine," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference in Buenos Aires.
China hopes the United States can show sincerity and promote proposals both countries can accept when their two leaders meet at this week's G20 summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday ahead of the key trade talks.World leaders started arriving in Buenos Aires on Thursday ahead of the gathering of the Group of 20, where global trade tensions, fuelled by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China, are expected to dominate the agenda.Financial and commodities markets are closely watching the outcome of the summit, especially a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, though the outcome is far from certain.Just as he left for Argentina on Thursday, Trump sent mixed signals about the chances of a trade deal with China, saying an agreement was close but he was not sure he wanted one.Two Chinese trade union officials arrested after helping workersAsked how China viewed the prospects, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China has consistently stressed that the essence of China-US trade is mutual benefit and win-win."At present both countries economic teams are maintaining close contact to put into effect the spirit of the consensus reached by the two leaders in their telephone call on Nov. 1," Geng told a daily news briefing."We hope the U.S. can show sincerity and meet China half way, to promote a proposal that both countries can accept," he added."At the same time we also hope that with the hard work of both sides, the Argentina meeting that will shortly take place between the leaders of China and the United States can achieve positive results, to set the direction for the next stage in the development of China-US ties."China says it hopes US can show sincerity on tradeThe rising tensions have seen the two countries hit each other with tit-for-tariffs on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars in sectors from automobiles to agriculture and energy, stymieing trade and redrawing global supply chains.The United States has levied additional duties of between 10 percent and 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods this year as punishment for what it calls China's unfair trade practices, with the 10 percent tariffs set to climb to 25 percent next year. China has responded with its own tariffs.HITTING "PAUSE"The state-run China Daily newspaper said in an editorial on Friday that an agreement can be reached in Argentina as both sides want a deal, but Washington must be "fair minded" if it wants to defuse spiralling tensions.However, it said any deal at this stage was unlikely to be a comprehensive solution to the trade impasse due to "diverging demands and agendas". It cited tensions over Chinese technological development, a focus of U.S. concern.China pollution cover-ups 'extremely stupid': environment ministry"However, it should be feasible for some kind of agreement to be reached to prevent the dispute worsening if both sides are reasonable," it said.A deal involving a total scrapping of all tariffs is not expected, although many observers have not ruled out a "pause" in the trade war where any planned tariff increases are put on hold while talks between the two sides continue.The options for solving the Sino-U.S. problems are all on the table, a Chinese diplomat said in Washington on Wednesday, adding both sides have stepped up communication and he was optimistic about the Xi-Trump talks.China's commerce ministry said on Thursday it was also hoping for "positive results".China rejects U.S. academic report calling for retaliatory actionPeter Navarro, a trade adviser to Trump who advocates a tough stance, will attend the meeting with Xi, a U.S. official told Reuters. Another official said Navarro's addition was meant to send a message to China about the administration's resolve.The stakes are high for the world's two biggest economies.Official data on Friday showed that growth in China's manufacturing sector stalled for the first time in more than two years in November, and new export orders declined for a sixth straight month.
China hopes US shows sincerity at G20 trade talks
Highlighting the deep rifts within the G20, Tusk said the European Union would extend its economic sanctions on Moscow next month, after Russian ships fired on Ukrainian ones in the Sea of Azov last week, seizing the boats and sailors.
Trump cited Russia's seizure of the ships as the reason he canceled a planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they had been expected to discuss the U.S. leader's threat to withdraw from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.
However, Moscow said U.S. domestic politics may have been the real reason behind the cancellation after Michael Cohen, Trump's former longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Organization skyscraper in Moscow.
The presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the summit also raised an awkward dilemma for leaders. Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler arrived under swirling controversy over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.
Chinese police have arrested two trade union officials after they helped workers try to set up a union, a source told Reuters on Friday, the latest detentions in a nationwide crackdown on labour activists.China's latest round of labour activism began this year when a company called Jasic International, a welding machinery manufacturer in the southern city of Huizhou, fired some workers for attempting to set up a union.The sacked workers staged weeks of protests, drawing in support from activists.The protests sparked detentions by the authorities, first of the protest organisers, then of student activists and most recently of supporters on top university campuses.The stability-obsessed Chinese Communist Party is suspicious of all forms of grassroots organisation that operate beyond its control, especially any that might lead to large-scale protests.On Nov. 9, police detained two community officials from the All China Federation of Trade Unions in the southern city of Shenzhen, said a source with knowledge of the situation.Police told their families that they were suspected of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", a crime in China, said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.The Shenzhen Public Security Bureau did not respond to a faxed request for comment.The All China Federation of Trade Unions also did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.All unions in China have to register with the official federation. The Communist Party has been calling for it federation to do a better in helping to improve workers' livelihood.But those improvements do not include allowing workers to organise freely.Labour rights groups say that the federation remains more responsive to the demands of management than workers.One of the detained officials is a woman, Zou Liping, who helped Jasic workers apply to set up a union led by members they had elected, and she also advised them about the law, according to a former worker."If she wasn't there, then maybe we wouldn't have been able to do it .... She told us how to legally set up a labour union," said the worker, who also declined to be identified."Even those within the system, if they have empathy for the workers, then they can be detained too," the worker said.The first source identified the second detained union official as Li Ao.The plight of factory workers at companies like Jasic has become a focus for students and recent graduate activists who have eschewed normal career paths in favour of working to address inequality and other social issues.More than 30 people are in detention as part of the crackdown on the protests, according to a support group.Reuters was unable to independently verify the group's tally of the detained. 
Two Chinese trade union officials arrested after helping workers
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would be robust when she talks to Prince Mohammed, urging him to hold a full and credible investigation into Khashoggi's killing and hold those responsible to account.
TRUMP AND TRADE
Uncertainty prevailed about how Trump, known for his unpredictability, would behave at what was shaping up as one of the group’s most consequential summits.
Trump rejected a statement by fellow leaders of the G7 industrialized economies at a summit in May after a tense gathering ended in acrimony, again over tariffs and trade.
Before heading for Buenos Aires on Thursday, Trump said he was open to a trade deal with China, but added, “I don't know that I want to do it.”
China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it hoped the United States could show sincerity and meet it halfway on trade, ahead of a meeting this weekend between the two countries' leaders that could be key to resolving their trade war.Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the comment at a daily news briefing.U.S. President Donald Trump sent mixed signals on Thursday about the prospects for a trade deal with China, saying an agreement was close but he was not sure he wanted one, just as he left for Argentina for a meeting with President Xi Jinping.China pollution cover-ups 'extremely stupid': environment ministryChina rejects US academic report calling for retaliatory action
China says it hopes US can show sincerity on trade
Global financial markets will take their lead on Monday from the outcome of the Xi-Trump meeting, having seesawed in recent days on concerns trade tensions could escalate.
Oil markets will also be closely watching a bilateral meeting between Putin and Crown Prince Mohammed on Saturday afternoon for any sign of a breakthrough in a deal for Russia to participate in a production cut by the OPEC oil cartel next month.
In another bilateral meeting on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Renault-Nissan alliance's future with Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe, seeking to defuse a brewing diplomatic row over the balance of power inside the partnership.
NEW-LOOK NAFTA
One bright spot in Buenos Aires on Friday before the summit opened was the signing of a revised U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Signing the agreement alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump said he looked forward to working with the U.S. Congress to complete the terms of the deal and did not anticipate problems in passing it.
The three countries agreed a deal in principle to govern their trillion dollars of mutual trade after a year and a half of contentious talks concluded with a late-night bargain just an hour before a deadline on Sept. 30.
However, Trudeau took advantage of the signing ceremony to say the partners needed to keep working to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum.