G20 Enters Final Day with Work to be Done on Bridging Divisions

The day will also see a highly anticipated meeting between US president Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose nations have been embroiled in an escalating trade war with new US tariffs on Chinese goods set to take effect a month from now.

The divisions among the world's leading economies were evident from the moment Argentina's president Mauricio Macri opened the summit on Friday with a call for international co-operation to solve the planet's problems.

Mr Trump sought to use the gathering to make his own trade deals.

Meanwhile, two men under heavy criticism from the West lately - Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - appeared to seek refuge in each other, bonding with a tough-guy hand grab as the leaders sat down for talks.

Security concerns also weighed on the two-day summit in Buenos Aires.

Argentina's security minister said eight petrol bombs were discovered in an area of the capital several miles from the summit venue where a protest drew thousands of demonstrators, who held up banners with slogans like "Go away G20" and "Go away Trump".

Diplomats from the G20 countries are haggling hard over a final joint statement, with disagreement over what language to use on the Paris climate accord and the World Trade Organisation.

Two European officials involved in the discussions said the US is hampering progress on both matters.

An unorthodox solution has emerged: because of resistance from the Trump administration, an official in the French president's office said the statement may use language which sets the US apart.

A draft said 19 of the participants agreed upon the importance of upholding the Paris climate accord, but the US does not.

The officials...

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