Foreign ministers from G20 countries are meeting in South Africa amid escalating trade tensions and disagreements among members over the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
G20 countries, which account for about 85 per cent of global GDP and three-quarters of trade, rarely reach unanimous agreement. And divisions over the war in Ukraine have made it more fractious than ever.
Tensions escalated after Donald Trump took over as US president and implemented a stunning turnaround in the White House’s trade and foreign policy.
The United States will reportedly not attend the meeting on Thursday and Friday. In early February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the meeting’s previously agreed agenda of “diversity, equity and inclusion” as “very bad.”
Seeking to achieve peace and end the war in Ukraine, Trump also blamed President Volodymyr Zelensky for the conflict and sidelined NATO allies from future talks. The first round of negotiations between the US and Russian delegations took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, without Ukrainian and European representatives.
Experts note that the absence of the US at the meeting opens the door for China, the world’s second-largest economy. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a “healthy and stable” relationship with the EU is needed now “more than ever.”
