Evening summary
We’re going to wrap up our live coverage of the G20 summit for the day. Thanks so much for joining me.
Here’s a summary of what happened on the final day of the summit.
- 19 of the 20 leaders were able to agree on all points made in the joint declaration (known as the communique) with the exception of Donald Trump who could not agree on climate change.
- Breaking with tradition, a separate paragraph on the US’s stance on the Paris climate agreement and fossil fuels was added.
- Angela Merkel said she “deplored” the decision by the US to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, but said that all other nations agree Paris climate accord is “irreversible”.
- Theresa May said the UK had led on bolstering the global fight against terror and modern slavery as well as pushing for the implementation of the Paris agreement.
- Trump has said he expects a trade deal with the UK to be completed “very, very quickly” and confirmed he will be coming to London.
- There was a “very good atmosphere” in Trump and May’s 50 minute meeting, in which a “significant proportion” was dedicated to the trading relationship.
- Trump described his lengthy sit down with Putin as a “tremendous meeting” while Putin said he had established a working relationship with Trump.
- More than 10,000 people took to the streets for a peaceful march through Hamburg, however German police were bracing or a third day of violent clashes with anti-capitalist protesters bent on disrupting the summit.
French President Emmanuel Macron says that he has not given up on trying to get Donald Trump to chance his mind over the Paris climate deal.
I never despair to convince, because I think it is a duty, given my position, and it is a trait of my character.
Theresa May press conference - summary
Speaking after a day of bilateral discussions at the G20 summit in Hamburg, the prime minister said the UK had led on bolstering the global fight against terror and modern slavery as well as pushing for the implementation of the Paris agreement and boosting international trade.
Photograph: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images
On terrorism, Theresa May repeated past calls for world leaders to do more to disrupt international finance streams for terror groups and to help stop foreign fighters returning to the west from conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. She also said the G20 agreed to do more to combat domestic violent extremism and welcomed moves from technology companies to address the online spread of extremist content.
The prime minister went on to describe modern slavery and trafficking as the “great human rights issue of our time” and highlighted the UK’s taskforce to combat the issue. She said more needed to be done around thew world and called for a “radically new global approach” to stopping human traffickers.
On the Paris Agreement, the most contentious issue of the summit, May said she was “dismayed” at the US decision to leave the pact. She urged Trump to rejoin it and said, following questions, that she had pushed the US president to do so in conversations during the Hamburg meeting.
May went on to say she was a leading advocate of free trade but admitted some had been “left behind” by globalisation - an admission she has made repeatedly in the past. She said the UK had pushed for G20 leaders to stop steel dumping practices and to do more to economically empower women. The prime minister added that the UK would work with others to improve international trading systems and to ensure more job opportunities for women.
Linking her bilateral meetings to the Brexit process, May said she looked forward to agreeing trade deals with “new friends and old partners”. Asked about a visit from one of the UK’s oldest partners, the US, May said no date had been agreed for Trump’s arrival in London.
Theresa May is now holding a press conference. She said she is dismayed that the US have not changed their mind on withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, but Trump would still be visiting the UK although a date had not been set.
May said: “Like other leaders, I am dismayed by the US withdrawing from the Paris agreement”
She said had urged president Trump to change his mind and that the UK’s commitment “is as strong as ever”.
“We play a leading role internationally,” she added.
Discussions on Syria, violent extremism, modern slavery, women empowerment and trade had been positive, she said.
On Brexit she said: “I’ve been struck by positivity of world leaders at G20 on Brexit trade.”
Updated
World leaders have made clear the US’s isolated stance on climate change, with 19 of the G20 countries affirming their commitment to the “irreversible” Paris climate agreement.
After lengthy negotiations that stretched well into Saturday, the final G20 joint statement notes Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris deal while stating that the world’s other major economies all still support the international effort to slow dangerous global warming.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Saturday she “deplored” the US exit from the agreement and added she did not share the view of Theresa May, the British prime minister, that Washington could decide to rejoin the pact.
Read the full article on the leader’s communique here:
French president Macron said Paris will host a summit on 12 December to make further progress on the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to address its financing issues.
Le 12 décembre 2017, deux ans après l'adoption de l'Accord de Paris, la France accueillera un nouveau Sommet de mobilisation sur le climat.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 8, 2017
“On December 12, two years after the Paris (climate) agreement, I will convene a summit to take further action on climate, notably on the financial front,” Macron told journalists.
He said that the summit would aim to mobilise private and public financing for the projects committed to in the Paris agreement.
Vladimir Putin said he had established a working relationship with US president Donald Trump, speaking at a press conference as the G20 summit draws to a close.
The Russian president said thought there were grounds to believe at least partial cooperation with Washington could be achieved.
Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
Putin said he felt Trump had accepted Putin’s assertions that Moscow had not interfered in the US presidential election last year, but that it was best to ask Trump what his views on that were.
He said the two leaders at their meeting had agreed to work together on cyber security and said he thought Trump in reality was a different person from the one seen on TV.
Putin said Trump had asked him detailed questions regarding allegations that Moscow had interfered in last year’s US election. He said he had tried to give Trump detailed answers which he said seemed to satisfy his counterpart.
The new ceasefire deal in southern Syria was the result of the United States altering its stance and becoming more pragmatic about the situation there, Putin said.
He also said that certain pre-cursors had been created for an improvement in relations between Moscow and Washington going forward.
While climate change could not be agreed on, officials did reach a common statement including Trump about the other contentious issue at the summit, trade. However Merkel said discussions on subject with the US had been particularly difficult.
The statement retains the G20’s longstanding rejection of protectionism. But it also acknowledged that trade must be mutually beneficial and that countries can use “legitimate” trade defenses to protect workers and industries against being taken advantage of by trade partners.
Merkel reiterated her statement that Europeans have to take their fate “in their own hands,” saying that while cooperation with the US is important, some topics like trade, steel in particular, are “difficult” to discuss with the Americans.
Updated
The G20 joint communique has been released
In a press conference, Angela Merkel said world leaders have agreed their final communique at the G20 summit.
She said 19 members of the Group of 20 have reaffirmed the Paris climate accord as “irreversible.”
She made clear that it had been very difficult to get a consensus and in the end, breaking from tradition, a separate paragraph was included to cover the position of the US, who are withdrawing from the Paris climate change agreement and wanted fossil fuels to be mentioned.
The German chancellor said the declaration makes absolutely clear that is not the common position of the other 19 world leaders.
Merkel said there had been no compromise on climate change and called the US position “regrettable”.
She said: “We amended the declaration and it says very clearly what the United States of America want and underneath what the other countries want.”
The German chancellor said she “deplored” the decision by the US to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, but said that all other nations agree Paris climate accord is irreversible.
Here is the controversial section of the G20 communique:
We take note of the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. The United States of America announced it will immediately cease the implementation of its current nationally-determined contribution and affirms its strong commitment to an approach that lowers emissions while supporting economic growth and improving energy security needs. The United States of America states it will endeavour to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and help deploy renewable and other clean energy sources, given the importance of energy access and security in their nationally determined contributions.
Directly following that paragraph is this one, as Merkel said in her press conference:
The Leaders of the other G20 members state that the Paris Agreement is irreversible. We reiterate the importance of fulfilling the UNFCCC commitment by developed countries in providing means of implementation including financial resources to assist developing countries with respect to both mitigation and adaptation actions in line with Paris outcomes and note the OECD’s report “Investing in Climate, Investing in Growth”. We reaffirm our strong commitment to the Paris Agreement, moving swiftly towards its full implementation in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances and, to this end, we agree to the G20 Hamburg Climate and Energy Action Plan for Growth as set out in the Annex.
Read the whole declaration here.
Updated
Reporters in the room keep coming back to the problem of the fossil fuel sentence.
Merkel said this into response to how they got round the disagreement:
We amended the declaration and it says very clearly what the United States of America want and underneath what the other countries want.
It’s absolutely clear it is not a common position.
We worked on this until noon today.
My colleague Anushka Asthana has more on the problem with the communique. Are we seeing an emergence of a G19?
Are we seeing the emergence of a G19 of sorts? Every country but US agrees to irreversibility of Paris, & Trump isolated on other issues too
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
A diplo source told me that Macron asked May and Ox PM, Malcolm Turnbull, to step out of G20 session to speak to Trump about climate change
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
"There was a concern that not being able to agree the language on the Paris agreement could hold up the whole summit communique," they said.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
Merkel says G20 communique will include US climate change stance
Angela Merkel is giving a press conference and says world leaders have agreed their final communique at the G20 summit.
She is discussing all the issues that have been discussed including corruption, education, sustainability and female empowerment.
The German chancellor said she “deplored” the decision by the US to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement.
The G20 communique reflects the position of the US, she said, but all other nations agree Paris climate accord is irreversible.
I’ll post more from the speech as soon as I can.
Updated
Trump’s daughter could be taking on the fight against modern slavery if this conversation is anything to go by.
Ivanka apparently asked the UK government to send across information on the subject during a chat with May, who brought in landmark anti-slavery legislation while home secretary.
PM chatted to Ivanka Trump at G20 - and apparently she raised Britain's work on modern slavery and asked for UK govt to send info on it.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
Trump has had another bilateral meeting this time with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Trump began by saying they had discussed trade “we made a lot of progress on trade” and that he and Abe agreed on the importance of the “problem and menace of North Korea.”
“The prime minister is, I will say this, very very focused on what is going on with respect to North Korea.”
Abe (through translator) thanked “Donald” for organizing the trilateral summit with Japan-US-South Korea on Thursday and noted that the threat from Pyongyang “has become increasingly severe.”
He said he hoped they could “demonstrate robust partnership” in the face of that threat.
Abe said:
As I look at the current situation, particularly the security environment in the Asia Pacific region, including North Korea, we believe that it has become increasingly severe and against such backdrop together with you Donald we would like to demonstrate the robust partnership as well as the bond between Japan and the United States on this occasion.
Updated
Putin has told leaders at the G20 summit that Russia has never interfered in the U.S. election, Russian G20 sherpa Svetlana Lukash reportedly said on Twitter, although the tweet seems to have since been deleted.
“Pres Putin points to £G20 partners on absence of real evidence of that & confirms that Russia had never interfered in US elections,” the tweet read.
Trump has promised $639 million in funding for humanitarian programmes, including $331 million to help feed starving people in four famine-hit countries - Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen.
The US president’s pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, providing a “godsend” to the UN World Food Programme, the group’s executive director, David Beasley, told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting.
“We’re facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two,” said Beasley, a Republican and former South Carolina governor who was nominated by Trump to head the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.
He said the additional funding was about a third of what the agency estimated was required this year to deal with urgent food needs in the four countries facing famine and in other areas.
The WFP estimates that 109 million people around the world will need food assistance this year, up from 80 million last year, with 10 of the 13 worst affected zones stemming from wars and “man-made” crises, Beasley said.
“We estimated that if we didn’t receive the funding we needed immediately that 400,000 to 600,000 children would be dying in the next four months,” he said.
Trump’s announcement came after his administration proposed sharp cuts in funding for the US State Department and other humanitarian missions as part of his “America First” policy.
Beasley said the agency had worked hard with the White House and the U.S. government to secure the funding, but Trump would insist that other countries contributed more as well.
A WPF spokesman said Germany recently pledged an additional 200 million euros for food relief.
The United States has long been the largest donor to the WFP.
At least one thing is known about the meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin: They met.
But for the first time? Or again? Depends on which accounts from Trump you choose to believe.
Reuters have dug up his statements on that subject over time.
In a chronological mashup of statements from 2013 to 2016 on whether he had met Putin, Trump has said:
I met him once.
Yes. One time, yes. Long time ago. Got along with him great, by the way.
I got to know him very well because we were both on ‘60 Minutes,’ we were stablemates.*
I never met Putin. I don’t know who Putin is.
I don’t think I’ve ever met him. I mean if he’s in the same room or something. But I don’t think so.
I didn’t meet him. I haven’t spent time with him. I didn’t have dinner with him. I didn’t go hiking with him. I don’t know and I wouldn’t know him from Adam except I see his picture and I would know what he looks like.
*In fact Trump’s segment was taped in New York; Putin’s in Russia.
The US, Russia and Jordan have reached a ceasefire and “de-escalation” deal for southwestern Syria hours after a meeting between Trump and Putin at the G20 summit. The truce is set to take effect on Sunday.
The UN deputy special envoy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy said the truce was a positive development that could help prop up the political process aimed at ending the country’s six-year war.
“This is a step in the right direction,” told reporters in Damascus.
Previous ceasefires have failed to hold for long and it was not clear how much the actual combatants in the area - Syrian government forces and the main rebel groups in the southwest - are committed to this latest effort.
German police braced for more violence
German police braced for a third day of violent clashes with anti-capitalist protesters bent on disrupting the summit.
While around 100,000 protestors have staged peaceful marches since Thursday, a hard core of the Black Bloc militants from across Europe have looted stores, set fire to street barricades and hurled bottles and paving slabs.
Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
The head of Hamburg police said he was shocked by the “wave of destructive anger”, riots and arson committed by demonstrators since Thursday.
Police chief Ralf Martin Meyer said:
We have clear indications it is highly likely that these violent perpetrators will mix in with today’s demonstration ‘G20 - not welcome!’. It is to be expected that again, no peaceful protest will be possible.
The anti-globalisation Attac movement plans a demonstration of up to 100,000 people on the final day of the summit. Police said some 21,000 people had already gathered.
“Today we will bring our criticism of the G20 and our alternatives for fair global policies onto the streets,” said Attac’s Thomas Eberhardt-Koester. “We want to respond to the police violence and senseless destruction of last night,” he added.
Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images
In the last three days, more than 200 police officers have been injured. Some 143 people have been arrested and 122 taken into custody. The number of injured protestors was not available. On Friday night, special armed police had been deployed with sub-machine guns.
Summits of world leaders are usually held in rural locations that are easily shielded from demonstrators. Merkel had wanted to show her commitment to openness and free speech by hosting G20 leaders in Hamburg, a port city with a strong radical tradition, but images of burning cars and shops and streets awash with debris have raised questions about that strategy.
Hamburg residents inspecting the destruction on Saturday, said they were angry the summit was taking place there.
Photograph: Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images
“Merkel underestimated the protests. The least she can do now is come visit (the district of) Sternschanze and see the damage for herself,” said Kai Mertens, a 50-year-old programmer.
“We are a very liberal district. But what they did here has nothing to do with the G20 or opposition to politics. They were hooligans and many were foreigners,” added Mertens.
Police from across Germany have been brought to Hamburg to reinforce the local force. A 27-year old German suspected of attempted murder after pointing a laser pointer at a police helicopter was due to face a judge on Saturday, said police.
Updated
Jeremy Corbyn said he would tackle Donald Trump on environmental issues if he was at the G20 summit.
Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
If he were in Theresa May’s place, he said he would also challenge the “economic orthodoxy” of austerity, which he said was creating inequality around the world.
The Labour leader was speaking in North East England, not Hamburg, ahead of addressing a large crowd at the Durham Miners’ Gala”.
Asked what he would be doing if he was prime minister at G20, he said:
I would be very strongly challenging Donald Trump on his wish to walk away from the Paris climate change accords.
They are crucial for the future of all of us and I hope he will understand that unless all the nations of the world get together to reduce emissions and try to preserve and protect our planet then the next generation are going to have more climate disasters, more extreme weather conditions and there’s going to be more environmental refugees around the world.
I think these are serious times and it requires serious attention to them.
Updated
Lunchtime summary
The second day of the G20 summit is well under way amid large scale protests and various awkward meetings between leaders.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far today:
- Trump has said he expects a trade deal with the UK to be completed “very, very quickly” and confirmed he will be coming to London.
- The leaders of Germany, France and Russia agreed on the importance of implementing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
- Negotiators behind the scenes have agreed the outlines of the official G20 statement but the issue of climate change was proving difficult to resolve.
- Trump described his lengthy sit down with Putin as a “tremendous meeting”.
- France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Chinese president Xi Jinping renewed their commitment to the Paris climate change agreement.
- There was a “very good atmosphere” in Trump and May’s 50 minute meeting, in which a “significant proportion” was dedicated to the trading relationship.
- It looks as if the US may have won a battle with other G20 over the wording of the final communique on climate change, with a sentence about fossil fuels appearing in a draft seen by the Guardian.
- 12,000 protesters gathered in central Hamburg for the “G20 - not welcome!” rally while a clean up operation takes place in the areas affected by last night’s violence and looting.
Updated
Some 12,000 protesters gathered in Hamburg’s central square at noon local time for the “G20 - not welcome!” rally, Deutsche Welle are reporting.
Photograph: Matthias Schrader/AP
Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters
Photograph: Steffi Loos/AFP/Getty Images
Although the protest is largely peaceful so far, police are expecting violence to abrupt again. They say 213 officers have been injured so far during the protests.
Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz urged the protesters to end the violence and make “peaceful coexistence” possible again, adding that his city and the whole of Germany deserved it.
“I am shaken over the violence that many had to endure, with their vehicles or property destroyed, or witnessing this brutality against police officers,” he said.
Pope Francis warned against “very dangerous alliances” between G20 countries that could harm the poor and migrants, in an article in Italian daily la Repubblica.
In today’s world, the main problem is the fate of the “poor, the weak, the isolated, which also includes the migrants,” the pope said.
“That is why I am troubled by the G20, because migrants would be the first to be targeted.”
Francis said he was afraid of
... very dangerous alliances among (foreign) powers that have a distorted vision of the world: America and Russia, China and North Korea, (Vladimir) Putin and (Bashar al-)Assad in the war in Syria.
It looks as if the US may have won a battle with other G20 over the wording of the final communique on climate change.
A fierce row over the issue took place behind the scenes, with talks stretching until 3am with particular tensions between the US and France, with particular anger about the Americans trying to insert a sentence that refers to clean fossil fuels.
Now a copy of the section of communique seen by the Guardian, thought to be the final wording, does include the line.
It reads:
Given the importance of energy access and security in the nationally-determined contributions of other countries, the United States of America will endeavour to work closely with other partners to help their access to and use of fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently and help deploy renewable and other clean energy sources.
It also says the G20 “take note” of Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement in the final version, with the US affirming a “strong commitment to an approach that lowers emissions while supporting economic growth and improving energy security needs”.
The G20 has also signed up to a line that sets out how the other 19 countries consider the Paris agreement to be “irreversible”
May failed to raise human rights with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, although she did tackle steel dumping and North Korea.
May also focused on trade with prime minister, Shinzo Abe, saying she hoped that the EU-Japan trade deal would form the basis of a future agreement with the UK after Brexit. The official said the Japanese leader was positive about future trading opportunities.
She will meet India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, at lunch time to discuss counterterrorism and the Commonwealth summit – with officials saying that there were no plans to discuss the question of visas, which India are likely to demand in return for any future free trade agreement.
She will then meet president Erdogan of Turkey in between G20 working sessions on Africa and migration and digitalisation.
Updated
A senior Downing street official described a “very good atmosphere” in Trump and May’s 50 minute meeting, in which a “significant proportion” was dedicated to the trading relationship.
Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
“They agreed to prioritise work so a deal will be ready as soon as possible after Britain leaves the EU. They pledged to examine areas now where the two countries can deepen their trade relations. The president made clear he believed the UK would thrive outside the EU,” he said.
The conversation did not go into any specific detail of what a trade agreement might look like, he added, but “was talking in broad terms about the determination to get a good deal for both countries”.
Other issues discussed included China’s overproduction of steel, the Syrian ceasefire agreed by Trump and Putin and the Iran nuclear deal. However, May did not raise the US president’s demeaning comments about London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and in the formal bilateral did not raise Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, despite the issue causing tension between countries in drawing up the G20 communique.
The official said no date was being announced for a visit by Trump, but added: “The invitation has been extended and will be set out in due course.”They suggested there were no plans for an imminent visit.
By the time the two world leaders met for their bilateral meeting in the afternoon, Putin was better prepared. For the obligatory photo opportunity at the beginning of the talks, he and Trump were seated in adjacent armchairs with translators and officials to one side. Their body language could hardly have been worse. The Donald was perched on the edge of his chair, trying to appear in control though just looking a bit needy. Vlad sat back in his, determined to make little or no eye contact. He wanted to make the American president sweat and he was succeeding. There was no doubt who was the boss now.
More from the politics sketch here:
Putin is currently in a meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission. I’ll update you with what they discussed shortly.
Bilateral meeting President @JunckerEU with President Putin in the sidelines of #G20 #G20HAM17. pic.twitter.com/NyETo7dhGV
— Margaritis Schinas (@MargSchinas) July 8, 2017
Trump and May agreed to prioritise work on a trade deal
In a 50 minute meeting, Trump and May agreed to prioritise work on the trade deal so it can be completed “as soon as possible” after Brexit, a UK government official said.
They also pledged to look at areas where trade can be deepened before Britain quits the EU. Trump made it clear he believes Britain will “thrive” once it has left the bloc.
The discussions ran 20 minutes over schedule and the leaders continued to chat as they walked to another meeting at the Hamburg summit. A “significant” amount of time was spent on trade and the discussion was entirely “positive”, the official said.
No date will be set out today for Trump to visit the UK. May also held a 20 minute meeting with her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, which focused on trade and North Korea’s nuclear missile programme.
Japan’s new trade deal with the EU, signed off on Thursday, “could form the basis” of an agreement between London and Tokyo following Brexit, May told the prime minister.
Ivanka Trump caused a stir when she briefly took her father’s seat at the leader’s table while he was out of the room.
Ivanka Trump, unelected, unqualified, daughter-in-chief, is representing the US at the G20 summit next to May, Xi, Merkel. Photo @LanaLukash pic.twitter.com/fvs0EMy8z7
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) July 8, 2017
It’s been particularly interesting to watch how involved Trump’s eldest daughter’s has been at the summit given last month she told Fox News that she tries to stay out of politics.
I understand Ivanka Trump is sitting at the #G20 leaders table this morning instead of US President Donald Trump.
— Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli) July 8, 2017
Source: "Incredible!!!"
Update: (Donald) Trump has now taken Ivanka's place. I understand she didn't take the floor during her "tenure". #G20
— Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli) July 8, 2017
Updated
May and Trump did not discuss climate change during their meeting this morning, as had been expected.
Here’s my colleague Anushka Asthana on what they did discuss:
May and Trump had 50 min meeting, with "significant" chunk on trade and deepening relations, counterterrorism, overproduction of steel.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
BUT in 50 minute bilat May did not raise climate change. We were told she would. Sources claiming they've discussed throughout G20.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
Updated
Xi Jinping has told Theresa May that China and Britain should “shelve their differences” as the UK quietly rejected Beijing’s attempt to backtrack from commitments to Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy.
The Chinese president and the British prime minister held a 30-minute bilateral meeting at the G20 in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday, one week after a war of words broke out between London and Beijing over Hong Kong.
According to China’s official news agency, Xinhua, Xi told May that Britain and China should “respect each other’s core interests and major concerns” – of which Beijing considers the former British colony to be one.
Full story:
Climate change disagreements delay statement
World leaders have agreed every aspect of a joint statement apart from the section on climate where the United States is pushing for a reference to fossil fuels, European Union officials have told Reuters.
The officials said aides had worked until 2 am on Saturday to finalise a communique for the G20, overcoming differences on trade after US officials agreed to language on fighting protectionism.
The outcome is good. We have a communique. There is one issue left, which is on climate, but I am hopeful we can find a compromise,” said one EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We have all the fundamentals. We have a G20 communique, not a G19 communique.”
The section that needs to be resolved by the leaders relates to the US insistence that there be a reference to fossil fuels, the official said.
With the final statement almost nailed down, the summit marked a diplomatic success for German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she finessed differences with US President Donald Trump, who arrived at the two-day summit isolated on a host of issues.
Trump, who on Friday found chemistry in his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulated Merkel for her stewardship of the summit.
“You have been amazing and you have done a fantastic job. Thank you very much chancellor,” he said.
Trump and Putin on Friday discussed alleged Russian meddling in the US election but agreed to focus on future ties rather than dwell on the past, a result that was sharply criticised by leading Democrats in Congress.
For Merkel, the summit is an opportunity to show off her diplomatic skills ahead of a federal election in September, when she is seeking a fourth term in office. She treated the leaders to a concert at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on Friday night, where they listened to Beethoven while their aides began their all night slog to work out a consensus on trade that had eluded the leaders.
Trade policy has become more contentious since Trump entered the White House promising an “America First” approach.
The trade section in the statement the aides thrashed out reportedly reads: “We will keep markets open noting the importance of reciprocal and mutually advantageous trade and investment frameworks and the principle of non-discrimination, and continue to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices and recognise the role of legitimate trade defence instruments in this regard.”
Climate change policy proved a sticking point, with the United States pressing for inclusion of wording about which other countries had reservations. That passage is said to read:
... the United States of America will endeavour to work closely with other partners to help their access to and use of fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently ...”
The climate section took note of Trump’s decision last month to withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris climate accord aimed at combating climate change, and reaffirmed the commitment of the other 19 members to the agreement.
Hamburg’s police force is expecting heavy clashes with protesters to continue today.
Police chief Ralf Martin Meyer said there are “clear indications” that violence could break out during the downtown anti-G20 rally this afternoon.
Resident Bettina Emig: "I'm disgusted that this was allowed to happen. Mayor Olaf Scholz should resign for bringing the G20 to Hamburg." pic.twitter.com/fum682gaM8
— Jenny Witt (@Tomkewitt) July 8, 2017
Meanwhile residents have been helping the clear up operation following last night’s violent protests.
After a night of violence in Hamburg the clean up is underway @abcnews pic.twitter.com/5CvQCESryB
— James Glenday (@jamesglenday) July 8, 2017
Commenting on the overnight violence, a Hamburg police spokesman said the anti-police aggression “reached a new dimension.”
SWAT teams intervened because officers’ lives might have been at risk otherwise, he said.
#Hamburg the day after #G20HH2017 pic.twitter.com/4gFZPAhdN7
— Thomas Sparrow (@Thomas_Sparrow) July 8, 2017
While the US are dragging their heels on climate change, other countries are renewing their commitment to tackling the issue with green projects and the Paris climate agreement.
Photograph: IAN LANGSDON / POOL/EPA
During a bilateral meeting climate change was the focus of discussions between France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
The two presidents discussed their common backing for the Paris climate agreement and desire to work on joint renewable energy projects, the French presidency said.
A statement released by China’s foreign ministry said that the Chinese president told Macron that China will fulfil its obligations under the Paris agreement.
Updated
Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the American U-turn on free trade “creates a puzzling situation” for other countries, in an interview with Deutsche Welle published today.
The finance minister said:
It creates a puzzling situation for other countries if the US feels it is threatened by the global system, because they are the ones who enjoy the most benefits of globalization by marketing their products all over the world.
For many other countries it is strange to see the strongest country suddenly feels it is not strong enough.
Trump describes his meeting with Putin as “tremendous"
Trump has described his lengthy head-to-head encounter with Russian president Putin as a “tremendous meeting”.
His comments about meeting Putin came as he sat alongside May for a morning exchange on the fringes of the summit.
It was his first comment on the high-profile talks with Putin in which he raised the issue of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US elections and discussed plans for a ceasefire agreement in Syria.
Trump was expected to focus on talks to counter North Korea’s push for ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, international trade and ways to combat terrorism.
Here’s more on the meeting:
Updated
Trump has praised his daughter, Ivanka at a women’s entrepreneurship event which is taking place alongside the G20.
Acknowledging the challenges he’s added to her life, the US president said he’s been proud of his eldest daughter from “day one.”
Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
He said: “If she weren’t my daughter it would be so much easier for her. That might be the only bad thing she has going, if you want to know the truth.”
The candid aside came as Trump was speaking at the launch of a new women’s entrepreneurship fund that his daughter has launched with the World Bank.
World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim announced that the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative had raised $325 million from governments including the US, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Canada. It will help women access capital, financing and other support.
Trump said that “empowering women is a core value that binds us together”.
My colleague Anushka Asthana has more on the negotiations that took place last night as officials try to get countries to agree on the final summit statement (known as the communique). Climate change is the biggest sticking point, as well as free trade.
As we reported yesterday, there has been some very tense discussions with the US sherpa and others over climate change and trade.
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
Hearing talks went to 3am. G19 (without US) all signing up to commitment that Paris agreement is irreversible. That is in communique
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
A US clause on US working to help countries access clean fossil fuels caused anger. Hearing still IN but that they've put brackets around it
— Anushka Asthana (@GuardianAnushka) July 8, 2017
The leaders of Germany, France and Russia have had a meeting this morning. Merkel, Macron, Putin agreed on the importance of implementing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, agreed under the Minsk accords, a German government spokesman said.
We’ll bring you more on that when we have it.
Anti-globalisation activists have rioted for a second night in Hamburg, setting up street barricades, looting supermarkets and attacking police with slingshots and petrol bombs.
Photograph: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock
Police say protests were extremely violent in the early hours of Saturday in the city’s Schanzenviertel neighbourhood.
Photograph: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock
Hundreds of officers went into buildings to arrest rioters while being attacked with iron rods and Molotov cocktails thrown from the roofs. Thirteen activists were arrested when special units stormed one building.
Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Some 500 people looted a supermarket in the neighbourhood as well as smaller stores.
Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Cars were torched, street fires lit as activists built barricades with garbage cans and bikes.
Updated
Negotiators behind the scenes have agreed the outlines of the official G20 statement but there is one outstanding issue to resolve – on climate.
Officials said they were confident this would be resolved today.
“The outcome is good. We have a communique,” one official said. “There is just one outstanding issue on climate.”
He said the G20 statement included a commitment to “fight protectionism”. The section that still needs to be resolved by the leaders relates to the US insistence that there be a reference to fossil fuels, the official said.
May will tell the world’s most powerful leaders today they are not doing enough to tackle modern slavery as she warns it is the greatest human rights issue they are facing.
Photograph: Matt Cardy/PA
Radical action is needed to stamp out the “vile” crime but the international response has been fragmented, she will say later at the summit.
Tackling slavery has been one of May’s key priorities since she was home secretary. She will urge the G20 to work together to meet the United Nations’ target of wiping out the crime by 2030.
Ahead of the discussions, May said: “This is the great human rights issue of our time. Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery remains a top priority for this government and we are committed to stamping out this abhorrent crime.”
Updated
Putin was seated next to the US first lady, Melania Trump, at a banquet for G20 leaders and their spouses after a concert at the summit in Hamburg last night.
We’ve put together a gallery of shots from the evening, including this year’s “family photo” – a group shot of leaders posing with their spouses in their glad rags.
Trump talks trade and London visit
Trump has said he expects a trade deal with the UK to be completed “very, very quickly” and said he will be coming to London.
The US president also hailed the “very special relationship” he had developed with May as the pair met for talks on the margins of the G20. Trump said he expected an agreement on new trading arrangements with Britain to be “very powerful” that would be great for both countries.
However, it wasn’t clear that he was referring to a full free trade agreement as he said trade would be a big factor. The US president also said he had a tremendous meeting with Russia’s president Putin.
Trump said:
There is no country that could possibly be closer than our countries. We have been working on a trade deal which will be a very, very big deal, a very powerful deal, great for both countries and I think we will have that done very, very quickly.
Prime Minister May and I have developed a very special relationship and I think trade will be a very big factor between our two countries.
Trump said he “will be going to London”. Asked when, he replied: “We’ll work that out.”
Updated
Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of the G20 summit in Hamburg, where the leaders of the world’s major economies are meeting in what is one of the most fractious gatherings in years.
Here’s what we know so far today:
- Leaders are entering the final day of talks, which German chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the summit in Hamburg, said had been “very difficult” so far.
- Officials worked through the night in an attempt to reach a compromise on the wording of the final summit statement as negotiators try to bridge the gap with the US on issues such as trade and climate change.
- There were more violent protests on Hamburg’s streets overnight. Demonstrators – who were protesting against the presence of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, climate change and global wealth inequalities – set fire to vehicles and barricades, looted shops and threw rocks at police officers.
- On the agenda today: partnership with Africa, migration, health, women’s rights, employment, digitalization.
- Theresa May will hold a series of fringe meetings today, aiming to shore up support for trade deals post-Brexit.
- Trump will also meet with a long list of world leaders including May, the Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and president Xi Jinping of China.
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