US, China ratify Paris climate deal, setting stage for G20

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C), UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shake hands during a joint ratification of the Paris climate change agreement ceremony ahead of the G20 Summit at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou, China, 3 September 2016 - Reuters

Reuters: China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, marking a major step toward the enactment of the pact as early as the end of the year and setting the stage for other countries to follow suit.

The world’s two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made the landmark announcement as heads of state from the Group of 20 biggest economies, or G20, arrived for a summit in the city of Hangzhou, parts of which resembled a ghost town as Chinese security locked down the area.

US President Barack Obama’s last scheduled trip to Asia before leaving office however got off to an awkward start. Soon after Air Force One landed, a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac, speaking angrily to her before a Secret Service agent stepped between the two.

China has gone to great lengths to try to make the 4-5 September G20 summit a success, hoping to cement its standing as a global power, but a range of thorny diplomatic topics could overshadow the agenda.

G20 leaders are likely to renew their promises to use tax and spending policies to invigorate the sluggish world economy, although a new pro-growth push was unlikely.

Overcapacity in the global steel industry, a sore point for China as the world’s largest producer of the metal, barriers to foreign investment and the risk of currency devaluations to protect export markets will also figure in the discussions.

Beyond economics, there may be friction over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and a US-South Korea decision to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea to counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.

When Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping, he told him they would have candid talks on cyber, human rights and maritime issues.

Nevertheless, the climate deal set a positive tone.

“Just as I believe the Paris agreement will ultimately prove to be a turning point for our planet, I believe that history will judge today’s efforts as pivotal,” Obama said after he and Xi handed ratified documents to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“We have a saying in America that you need to put your money where your mouth is. And when it comes to combating climate change, that’s what we’re doing. Both the United States and China, we’re leading by example.”

At a joint ceremony, Xi said it “speaks to the shared ambition and resolve of China and the United States in addressing global issues”.

French President Francois Hollande said it was an important step that would pave the way for the implementation of the Paris agreement at the end of the year.

China, US talks “extremely productive” ahead of G20 as trade issues loom

Reuters: US President Barack Obama said on Sunday bilateral talks with China’s Xi Jinping had been “extremely productive”, as world leaders gathered for a G20 summit expected to address sluggish global economic growth and the looming spectre of protectionism.

Some G20 leaders have already begun drawing battle lines in disputes over issues like trade and investment, tax policy, and industrial overcapacity.

Security is extremely tight in Hangzhou, with parts of the city of 9 million people turned into a virtual ghost town as China seeks to ensure that the G20 summit is incident-free.

Obama, who arrived on Saturday, held talks with Xi that ran late into the night. He urged Beijing to uphold its legal obligations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, and stressed US commitments to its regional allies.

Xi said China would continue to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea.

Obama brushed off his chaotic welcome at the Hangzhou airport where his staff argued with Chinese security over media access. He was also not offered a staircase to disembark at the front of Air Force One, and staffers had to scramble to find an alternative exit.

“The bilateral discussions that we had yesterday were extremely productive and continue to point to big areas of cooperation,” Obama told reporters on Sunday, saying he wouldn’t “over-crank” the significance of the airport row.

On Saturday, Obama and Xi also ratified the Paris climate change agreement, setting the stage for other countries to follow and for the deal to come into effect possibly as early as before the year-end.

China is keen to keep the summit focused on economic issues and to prevent other disputes from overshadowing it.

Other leaders arriving for the summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Britain’s Theresa May, Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Francois Hollande and India’s Narendra Modi.

The leaders are likely to renew their promises to use tax and spending policies to invigorate the sluggish world economy, although a new pro-growth push was unlikely.

Overcapacity in the global steel industry, a sore point for China as the world’s largest producer of the metal, barriers to foreign investment and the risk of currency devaluations to protect export markets will also figure in the discussions.

With the summit tucked in between Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and the US presidential election, G20 leaders will also be keen to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation.

Battle lines

On Sunday, Xi held talks with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and told him he hoped Australia would continue to provide a fair, transparent and predictable policy environment for foreign investors.

China was angered when Australia blocked the A$ 10 billion ($ 7.7 billion) sale of the country’s biggest energy grid to Chinese bidders last month.

China has accused Australia of bowing to protectionist sentiment in blocking the bid for Ausgrid, as well as an earlier one by a China-led consortium to buy cattle company Kidman & Co.

Beijing has also criticised Australia, a staunch US ally, for running surveillance flights over disputed islands in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday China must set up a mechanism to address its problem of industrial overcapacity, saying it was “unacceptable” the European steel industry had lost so many jobs in recent years.

“Overcapacity is a global problem but there is a particular Chinese element,” he told a news conference.

Britain’s future after its departure from the European Union was also subject to discussion.