• The G20 Heads of State and Government Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 22 and 23 November. US President Donald Trump was not there, and the U.S. delegation didn’t speak up.

At the opening, speakers stressed the importance of multilateralism and low tariffs.

The theme of the meeting was: "Promoting solidarity and helping developing countries adapt to weather disasters, switch to clean energy and reduce their excessive debt costs"; a view that the new administration in Washington no longer shares.

• Chinese Premier Li Qiang said: "Today, the world economy is once again facing major challenges, marked by a rise in unilateralism and protectionism, as well as the escalation of trade restrictions and confrontations."

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he should hand over the rotating presidency to an "empty pulpit." He rejected the White House’s offer to send a chargé d’affaires for the transfer of power.

• Voicing the views of globalists, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — who was successively Governor of the Bank of Canada (2008-2013) and then Governor of the Bank of England (2013-2020) — said: "This year’s G20 summit brought together countries representing three-quarters of the world’s population, two-thirds of world GDP and three-quarters of world trade, and this without the United States officially attending. It is a reminder that the center of gravity in the world economy is changing (...) This is multilateralism. And Canada is showing up and Canada is committing. I think collectively, we have made a lot of progress (...) The global economy can do without the United States. When America wants to come back and have trade talks, we’ll have them."

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Translation
Gregor Fröhlich