G20 promises adjustments, but offers few concrete steps

                  

China - The leaders of the world's major economies agreed at a summit in China on Monday with the coordination of macroeconomic policies and opposition to protectionism, but few concrete proposals have emerged to meet the growing challenges of globalization and free trade.

The two-day meeting in China's scenic city of Hangzhou led the members of the G20 to agree with the opposition to protectionism, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, asking that the major economies boost growth through innovation, not only fiscal measures and monetary.

"Our goal is to resume trade and international investment growth engines," Xi said in a closing statement.

"We will support multilateral trade mechanisms and oppose protectionism to reverse declines in global trade."

Discussions at the meeting were distracted by the firing test of North Korea three ballistic medium-range missiles, in a reminder of the risks to global security.

North Korea test-fired missiles at sensitive times in the past to draw attention to its military might. But the launch Monday risked embarrassing for its main ally, Beijing, which has made huge efforts to ensure a peaceful summit meeting in Hangzhou.

Beijing said he expected the main parties to avoid taking any actions that could increase tensions.

The US classified the release of reckless, while the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said the US president, Barack Obama, who was unforgivable.

On other fronts, the United States tried, but failed, to finalize an agreement with Russia for a ceasefire in Syria, on the summit sidelines.

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer discussion than expected on whether, and how, they could reach an agreement, said a senior US government official.

And the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, were unable, in talks on Monday, to reach an agreement on a second time ceasefire in two weeks. They will meet again this week.

The G20 called for the formation of a global forum to take action to deal with excess steel capacity and encourage adjustments, the White House said in a statement, one of the controversial issues discussed at the summit.

China accounts for half the world's annual production of 1.6 billion tons of steel and has struggled to reduce its estimate of 300 million tonnes of excess capacity, while the rise in prices has given companies an incentive to increase production for export.

Attending his first G20 summit, British Prime Minister, Theresa May, said governments must "do more to ensure that workers actually benefit from the opportunities created by free trade."

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, speaking after the summit, also said that more inclusive growth was a priority in the global economy.

"We need more growth, but it needs to be more balanced, more sustainable and inclusive so as to benefit all people," she said.