Trump kicks off 2-day G-20 summit in Argentina

Trump meets with Argentine President Mauricio Macri

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

published 30 November 2018

President Trump arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday night for a two-day Group of 20 summit. Trump announced in a tweet that he'd canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing aggression against Ukraine, but he met with Argentine President Mauricio Macri on Friday morning and has bilateral meetings scheduled with the leaders of India and Japan later in the day, plus a working dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, where averting a trade war will be the main focus.

Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Canada will sign the revamped NAFTA agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), on Friday, putting it one step closer to ratification. Argentina has been working behind the scenes to remove language and minimize topics of discussion that would antagonize Trump, who has roiled previous multilateral meetings. Those topics include climate change, the Paris agreement, protectionism, and migration. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is making his first major trip abroad since the murder in Turkey of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and observers will be watching how other leaders interact with him, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is arriving late because her plane had technical problems that forced her to return to Germany.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.