G-20 Summit 2019 - Bilateral Meets

What is the issue?

The annual G-20 summit for 2019 was recently held in Osaka, Japan.
Here are the outcomes of the key bilateral meets held on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

What were the U.S.-China trade negotiations on?

U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
Trade Talks - It was announced that trade talks between the two countries resumed.

Notably, the trade negotiations broke down some weeks ago.
This was after the Chinese side said that it could not accept some provisions that had been tentatively agreed to in an incomplete draft.
Mr. Trump now clarified that the U.S. would not impose any new tariffs on Chinese exports while the talks were underway.
Meanwhile, China had agreed to resume broad purchases of American farm products and other goods.
The new developments will delay the imposition of 25% tariffs on some $300 billion in Chinese imports.
Huawei issue - Trump allowed U.S. companies to sell their equipment to Huawei, Chinese telecom giant.

[Chinese technology giant Huawei's ambitious 5G rollout in the US was recently hampered by the Trump administration.
It was accused that Huawei was doing espionage at China's behest.

The U.S. thus blacklisted Huawei, prohibiting American companies from selling equipment to Huawei.
It barred the use or installation of Huawei 5G technology-equipped devices in critical infrastructure and offices related to security establishment.
The US has also been lobbying with friendly nations to boycott Huawei 5G rollout in those countries.
Japan and Australia have already barred Huawei from rolling out 5G technology there.
The move was a major blow to Huawei, which relies on chips and other equipment from the United States.
India has not yet committed to U.S.’s call for a ban on Huawei plan to rollout 5G in the country.
India maintains that the decision would be taken considering its own business and security interests.]

What are the key takeaways of Modi-Trump meet?

The U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian PM Modi met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit.
Tariffs - Modi and Trump directed officials to resolve trade issues that have cropped up in last one year. Click here to know more
The dispute over tariffs began in 2018 when the U.S. hiked tariffs on import of aluminium and steel from many countries including India and the EU.
This was followed by ending the General System of Preferences (GSP) for certain Indian items such as textiles and jewellery.
In response, recently, India hiked tariffs on certain items imported from the US.
The Indian response is likely to hurt farmers producing and exporting apples, almonds and lentils.
Notably, Trump believes these farmers in US countryside are his supporters and core constituency.

Defence and S-400 - India's S-400 and other defence deals with Russia have been an irritant for the Trump administration.
Under its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the US imposed sanctions on countries purchasing arms from Russia.
India has sought a waiver for its S-400 deal but the request is still pending with the Trump administration.
The US president stressed that defence deals between the two countries should go forward, but he did not raise the issue of S-400 missile system.
This signals that the U.S. administration is not ready to mix India-US bilateral ties with Russia.
Iran issue - After Trump came to power, the U.S. withdrew from the multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran and imposed fresh sanctions on it too.
The U.S. administration has been pushing the Indian government for stopping oil imports from Iran, which is a key supplier of crude oil to India.
Moreover, India has strategic interests in Iran, where it has invested heavily in Chabahar port.
In his meeting with Trump, Modi pressed for the need to maintain stability in the gulf region, given India's energy dependence and diaspora presence.
Trump assured at the summit that the US was trying its best to ensure stability in the region, a major takeaway for India.

Source: Indian Express, India Today, New York Times