According to the White House, Biden and Xi “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine” at their meeting on Monday. A readout of the meeting on the Chinese foreign ministry website did not use the word “nuclear” but said: “Conflicts and wars do not produce a winner … and … confrontation between major countries must be avoided.” Zelensky welcomed these comments, saying: “It is important that the United States and China jointly emphasized that threats to use nuclear weapons were unacceptable.” He added, “Everyone understands to whom these words are addressed.” Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Now that the Indonesian president has opened the summit, the first working session between world leaders will begin. These sessions are closed to the media. This morning’s meeting is set for food and energy security. This is an issue that Indonesia has promoted as the host of the summit, with a particular focus on supporting low- and middle-income countries. Updated at 02.17 GMT
The President of Indonesia officially opens the G20 summit
President Joko Widodo opened the summit with a speech to the assembled world leaders. He said “the eyes of the world were on” their meeting. Adding that the G20 meeting “must succeed”, Widodo said the world was facing “crisis after crisis, sharpening rivalries”. “The world is facing extraordinary challenges,” the Indonesian President said, and their impact is felt, “very strongly in food and energy supplies.” US President Joe Biden has just arrived at the opening of the G20 in Bali. He was welcomed by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who then escorted the President to the main hall of the summit venue. Now that it has arrived, the first working sessions of the summit will begin. In these meetings the official G20 issues will be discussed by the world leaders. They are then going to break at around 12.30pm. local time for lunch, before reconvening in the afternoon for a second working session that will be closed to the press. Britain has announced it will spend $4.9 billion on five new Navy ships to boost security “in the face of increased Russian threats”. The announcement came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak began his first full day of official events at the G20 summit in Bali. The Downing Street statement said: Russia’s actions put us all at risk. As we provide the Ukrainian people with the support they need, we are also drawing on the breadth and depth of British expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships. The expenditure is the next phase of a program under which three ships are already under construction. All eight frigates are expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, the statement said. A quick snapshot of Joe Biden here before the US president’s arrival. Biden posted a series of tweets this morning noting the series of diplomatic meetings that have taken place in recent days. This week’s trip brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to address this moment of major global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine. At the G20 meetings, we will be talking about the same issues that matter to people’s lives, not just at home but around the world. This forum is vital for the world’s largest economies to work together for the good of people everywhere and I look forward to convening.” This week’s trip brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to address this moment of major global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine. — President Biden (@POTUS) November 15, 2022 Xi Jinping was just seen entering the main venue for today’s talks. The Chinese leader and his US counterpart Joe Biden held their first face-to-face meeting as leaders yesterday in a bid to ease tensions over Taiwan and trade that have brought US-China relations to their lowest level in decades . Biden said he did not believe China had “imminent” plans to invade Taiwan, but opposed its “coercive and increasingly aggressive actions” toward the island in his first one-on-one meeting with Xi Jinping since they became leaders. Xi Jinping arrives for the G20 leaders summit this morning. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Biden also said he and the Chinese leader have been “honest and clear” with each other on issues ranging from Taiwan to trade. The meeting, which lasted more than three hours, was seen as an effort to reduce tensions that have brought US-China relations to their lowest level in decades. Biden said he “absolutely believes” that a new cold war with China can be avoided, adding that he did not believe there was any “imminent attempt by China to invade Taiwan.” Updated at 01:49 GMT Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also arrived for the expected talks this morning. His attendance at the summit comes at a time of strained relations with the United States over energy supplies and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as US concern over growing Gulf ties with China, whose president is due to visit Saudi Arabia.
Zelensky responds to the Biden-Xi meeting
Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the criticism of threats to use nuclear weapons, made during the meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping on Monday. According to the White House, Biden and Xi “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine” at their meeting on Monday. A readout of the meeting on the Chinese foreign ministry website did not use the word “nuclear” but said: “Conflicts and wars do not produce a winner … and … confrontation between major countries must be avoided.” Zelensky welcomed these comments, saying: “It is important that the United States and China jointly emphasized that threats to use nuclear weapons were unacceptable.” He added, “Everyone understands to whom these words are addressed.” Russia’s foreign minister and spokesman for Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov, is now at the summit. Putin said he would not attend the gathering of leaders from the G20 nations in Bali, Indonesian and Russian officials confirmed last week, ending weeks of speculation about a possible showdown with US President Joe Biden. The Russian president will be represented by his veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, officials said. “President Putin’s program is still being worked out. could participate virtually,” said Yulia Tomskaya, the head of protocol at the Russian embassy in Indonesia. Putin may have wanted to avoid potentially explosive confrontations with Western leaders, including Biden, events that the Russian media may not have been able to present in his favor. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives after Vladimir Putin said he would not attend talks in Bali. Photo: Willy Kurniawan/Reuters Updated at 01:50 GMT Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has canceled meetings he was due to hold at the G20 summit in Bali after testing positive for Covid-19, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page this morning. Hun Sen, who is the current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), had tested positive before holding any meetings, including those planned with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the statement said. Hun Sen said he would not attend “for the safety of the delegates attending the meeting”. It also hosted a summit of ASEAN and world leaders that concluded Sunday in Cambodia. Updated at 01.26 GMT
The leaders are starting to arrive
Indonesian President Joko Widodo greets Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte upon his arrival for the G20 leaders’ summit. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/AFP/Getty Images It’s 9am in Bali and the leaders of the G20 major economies have started to arrive at the main venue for the start of the summit. There are official items on the day’s agenda and much of it has been led by summit host Indonesia. Energy security and the clean energy transition for low- and middle-income countries are high on the list today. Global health security is also to be discussed. However, the talks are likely to be overshadowed by talk of Russia’s war in Ukraine and soaring global inflation. This morning, European Council President Charles Michel told reporters that the G20 is an opportunity “to convince all partners to put more pressure on Russia.”
The President of Ukraine will address the G20 gathering
The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will actually speak today at the G20 summit in Bali. Zelensky is likely to use the address to highlight how Russia has effectively captured tens of thousands of Ukrainians by transporting them to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not traveled to the leaders’ gathering, but is being represented by his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. On Monday, US President Joe Biden met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in their first face-to-face meeting as leaders. According to a White House statement on the meeting, both leaders expressed concerns about Moscow’s nuclear threats. The US statement said “a nuclear war must never be fought” and could not be won, and “underscored its opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.”
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the G20 summit in Bali. I’m Jonathan Yerushalmy and I’ll be bringing you all the latest as it unfolds over the next few hours. The leaders of the G20 countries…
