Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping urged world leaders to avoid “empty talk” and confront sluggish economic growth and rising protectionism as their summit opened on Sunday in the scenic city of Hangzhou. Xi welcomed Group of 20 presidents and prime ministers with a handshake, and an extended clasp with Barack Obama, as both men smiled despite protocol stumbles around ...

  Hangzhou / AFP Despite warm relations between Moscow and Beijing, Vladimir Putin brought a chilly gift for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Sunday: a tub of ice cream. Putin did not divulge the flavour of the frozen gift as he was welcomed by Xi at an official government ...

  Hangzhou / AFP A tarmac tiff between US and Chinese officials over media access highlighted the gap between views on human rights and press freedom, US President Barack Obama said on Sunday after the incident soured the start of a global summit. China’s government minders gave American National Security Advisor Susan Rice and other US officials trouble over press ...

  Hong Kong / AFP Young Hong Kong independence activists calling for a complete break from China stood in major elections for the first time on Sunday, the biggest vote since 2014 pro-democracy rallies. They are fighting for seats in the Legislative Council, or LegCo—Hong Kong’s lawmaking body —as concerns grow that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous ...

  Manila / AFP The Philippines has asked China to explain the increased presence of Chinese vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, the defence secretary said on Sunday, expressing “grave concern”. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a Philippine air force plane saw four Chinese coast guard ships, two barge-like vessels and two suspected troop ...

  Forget the “gig economy” — at least for now. On Labour Day 2016, we are in the midst of a historic transformation of the American job market. Popular attention focuses on Uber and similar internet-based networks that unite buyers and sellers. “TaskRabbit,” for example, creates a platform for people who need something done (grocery shopping, plumbing) and those willing, ...

  The North American Free Trade Agreement, Donald Trump said on Wednesday, “has been a far greater benefit to Mexico” than the U.S. Just minutes before, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, standing by Trump’s side in Mexico City, said Nafta had done both countries “a lot of good.” Trump disagrees over which country benefited the most, but he didn’t disavow ...

  Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have obvious disagreements over how to handle North Korea’s illicit weapons program. China is angry about U.S. plans to deploy advanced missile defenses in South Korea to counter the threat, while Obama faces pressure to sanction Chinese banks and companies that help sustain Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions. But the two presidents still have ...

  After the US and China ratified the Paris climate accord, there is growing optimism that the agreement can take effect by the end of the year. It has to be signed by 55 countries responsible for 55% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. And ratification by the two economic giants — who emit 38% of the climate-harming GHSs — is ...

  In recent years, digital currencies have shown considerable promise. Research by the People’s Bank of China suggests that the best way to take advantage of these innovations is for central banks to take the lead, both in supervising private digital currencies and in developing digital legal tender of their own. At the PBOC, this effort is underway. In approaching ...