G20: what did the leaders decide?
The G20 summit took place in Bali, Indonesia, on November 2022. Industrialized and developing countries of the G20 account for 80% of global economic activity and two-thirds of the world's population. The leaders of the 17 met in Indonesia to discuss all the hot topics of the world.
The summit's official themes were financial stability, health care, sustainable energy, and digital transformation. However, tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine took center stage and complicated host Indonesia's efforts to reach a consensus on these topics.
The condemnation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Initially, the summit was supposed to be devoted to finding ways to restore the global economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Russia's aggression against Ukraine changed priorities.
Many G20 members see the war in Ukraine as a factor holding back global economic growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, enhancing energy and food security, and raising risks to financial stability. Besides, the leaders of the G20 countries discussed the threat of using nuclear weapons due to the Russian invasion. The final communiqué said: "The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable."
However, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil, and China refrained from condemning Russia. Furthermore, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called on Western leaders to soften the rhetoric against the Russian Federation at the G20 summit.
Biden and Xi’s meeting highlights
After a nearly three-year absence from the world stage, Chinese leader Xi Jinping embarked on face-to-face meetings with Western leaders in Bali to restore China's global influence. The meeting with Joe Biden was crucial.
China's relations with the US and its allies have deteriorated to varying degrees in recent years due to rising geopolitical tensions, disputes over trade, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Beijing's growing partnership with Moscow despite Russia's war on Ukraine.
After a three-hour meeting on Monday with US President Joe Biden, Xi held talks with the leaders of four America’s allies - Australia, France, the Netherlands, and South Korea.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Welcoming Dinner during G20 in Bali, 15 November 2022 (c) Willy Kurniawan/AP
Macron wants more power
Many believe that French President Emmanuel Macron used the G20 summit to renew France's strategic ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region. He met with regional heavyweights, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as part of the summit.
Above all, he hopes for "recognition" of France's ambitions and influence at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Thursday and Friday in Bangkok, where France will be the first European country invited.
Emmanuel Macron is making this vast territory, stretching from East Africa to Western America's coast, a strategic priority, where France has a lot of land and maritime areas. This enormous maritime space means France is interested in environmental and fisheries issues and the fight against ocean-related human trafficking.
Yen’s reaction to G20
The news that emerged on the G20 caught the attention of USDJPY traders as the yen jumped against the USD to a new high since 1998, the day before the summit started, raising expectations for Japanese intervention. Attention at the meeting turned to the first reading of Japan's third-quarter (Q3) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and US retail sales for October, amid hopes of easing divergence between the policies of the Fed and the Bank of Japan.
USDJPY has lost more than 5% in the last week. Now the price is consolidating between 140.750 and 138.400.
Conclusion
In general, this year’s summit showed that even if the world’s leaders have different opinions about certain topics, such things as world peace and wealth are priorities for everybody.