Xi's G20 trip to further bolster open economy

Sino-US leaders' meeting on the sidelines of gathering in Japan expected to ease tensions

President Xi Jinping's upcoming trip to Japan for the G20 Summit will reinforce international consensus on upholding multilateralism and an open economy amid rising protectionism that looms large over the global economy, observers said.

They said Xi's expected meeting with his United States counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit could also de-escalate bilateral trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.