Déjà Vu at the G20?

Summary

In November 2018, just before the last meeting of the G20 state leaders in Buenos Aires, the focus was placed on whether a communiqué would be issued (there was no such communiqué for the previous G7 summit) and if the meeting between the leaders of the USA and China would avoid a trade war.

Key points

• Key points:
• Almost eight months later at the same summit, but this time in Japan, there could be a sense of déjà vu of last year's summit in Argentina: doubts about the communiqué and "excitement" about the handshake that opens the door to a trade truce between the USA and China.
• The communiqué is difficult to accomplish, so much so that those issued by the G20 in recent years reveal more by what they do not say—the disagreements—sometimes just a vague "we take note of."
• If the US and Chinese strategy of economy disconnect continues, 'déjà vu' will no longer make us think of the previous G20 summit, but parts of last century when bloc politics dominated the global scene.

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