G20 coping with crisis of credibility

For the second time in a row, the global focus, rather than being on the G20 Summit, is on the sidelines of the summit. The escalating trade war between the United States and China has made the meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the summit the most anticipated global event.

On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, "mini summits" such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russian, India, China and South Africa) leaders' meeting and the Japan-US-India meeting which began last year are also likely to be held. And the Indian prime minister has proposed that a Russia-India-China (or RIC) "mini summit" be started in Osaka.

The RIC "strategic triangle" has been in the works since 1999; and in terms of global governance vision, it is in great variance with that of the United States and its allies. The RIC meeting, if held, will mark the upgrading of their decade-long foreign ministers' trilateral meeting. Many other important bilateral meetings are also expected to be held in Osaka. The shared focus of these meetings is expected to be on managing multiple imminent crises triggered by the US' economic sanctions and tariff hikes, which are pushing the global economy on a downward slide. Worse, this trend threatens to gather speed as the US moves closer to the presidential election.