Trump goes it alone on trade, climate at tense G20

US President Donald Trump, ahead of a tariffs showdown with China, diverged with G20 partners at summit talks Saturday in refusing to back global action on climate change and by watering down past pledges to fight trade protectionism.

A final communique adopted after all-night haggling in the summit in Argentina said all other G20 members agreed to implement the "irreversible" Paris Agreement on climate change, while respecting different paces of economic development.

But it said the "United States reiterates its decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement," mirroring the divergence seen last year when Trump shocked the global community by bucking the consensus at his first G20.

The statement also omitted pledges by the G20 to fight protectionism and uphold multilateral trading rules, which used to be a mainstay of the world's leading economies pre-Trump.

Instead, it merely recognized the "contribution" of the "multilateral trading system," and added that it was "falling short" in goals of growth and job creation.

Trump's determination to plow on with his "America First" agenda stands in contrast to the alliance-building presidency of George Bush, whose death Friday triggered a rare show of unity from G20 leaders.

Trump said his predecessor's passing would prevent him holding a post-summit news conference scheduled for later Saturday, "out of respect" for the Bush family.

It was Trump's second cancellation of the summit after he snubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin in Buenos Aires, citing Russia's recent naval skirmish with Ukraine, and he has also downgraded meetings with other G20 leaders to make them less formal.

The cancellation means Trump will no longer face press questions over new developments this week stemming from a US investigation into whether his presidential campaign colluded with Russia, which has now spread to cover his past business dealings.

Other hotspots such as Ukraine also flared up at the two-day summit, although Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received an effusive welcome from Putin, showing the de facto ruler still has friends despite the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist.

Financial markets, while hoping for a ceasefire to Trump's trade war with China, were also watching Putin and the prince for any sign that the world's two top exporters of crude might cut output to shore up collapsing oil prices.

Putin meanwhile has been forced to defend Russia's seizure of three Ukrainian vessels off Crimea in meetings with counterparts such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The chancellor reiterated her concern about the escalation of the Kerch Strait and her commitment to the freedom of shipping into the Sea of Azov," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said after she met Putin on Saturday.

In Buenos Aires, Merkel also paid tribute to Bush as a "true friend" of the German people who helped bring about Germany's reunification after the Berlin Wall came down.

Macron, pausing from his attempts to build a G20 front on climate change and from the challenge of violent protests back home, said Bush "was a world leader, who strongly supported the alliance with Europe".

British Prime Minister Theresa May echoed Merkel in lauding the late Bush as "a great statesman and a true friend of our country."
Trump himself said Bush had "inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service."