G20 Summit: China has the option to “come in and play the role of a spoiler” at the G20, according to Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to US President Joe Biden, but India, the US, and all other G20 members would encourage China to “set aside geopolitical questions” and play a constructive role on an array of urgent international issues, Jake Sullivan said a day after Xi Jinping decided to skip the G20 Summit in Delhi.
In answer to a query on whether tensions between China and India would have an impact on the G20 outcome, Sullivan made the remark. At a White House press conference, Sullivan gave an overview of the President’s planned trip to India. Biden is scheduled to arrive in Delhi and meet in person with PM Narendra Modi on 8th September.
Sullivan added that achieving a “absolute consensus on Ukraine” at the G20 was difficult and that he wasn’t expecting Russia, which will be represented at the Summit by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, to budge from its position. But, as Sullivan pointed out, the majority of UN and G20 members rejected Russia’s “illegal invasion” of Ukraine.
Devastating consequences of Russia’s conflict
He said that Biden would speak out against the “devastating consequences” of Russia’s conflict and work for a “just and durable peace” that adhered to the UN charter, international law, and the notions of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Moscow and Beijing have objected to even mentioning the language on Ukraine that was agreed with during the most recent summit in Bali, endangering the possibility of a united communique. Sullivan said that India had endorsed the statement when questioned about its views on the war.
Sullivan stated that the US was strongly committed to the G20 as a venue to produce significant results in a period of historic global economic shocks in his opening remarks at the briefing.
US will advance ambitious agenda of reform of multilateral development banks
The NSA stated that the US will advance an ambitious agenda of reform of multilateral development banks, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the quest to make it “bigger and better.” The NSA linked the American agenda at the Summit with Biden’s domestic economic policy of greater investments at home.
In this context, he emphasised that the US administration had requested extra money for the Bank from the US Congress.
Sullivan asserted that this was an affirmative agenda and that these multilateral development banks (MDBs) continued to be the best tools for providing low- and middle-income nations with “high standards, non-coercive, transparent, sustainable, and resilient” finance streams.
This was in answer to a query regarding whether the reform plan was focused on China. In answer to another query, the NSA noted that China was also a shareholder in the Bank and said that Xi’s absence would not change how the US presented the problem.
Sullivan went on to say that the US was eager to welcome the African Union (AU) as the group’s newest permanent member, providing more evidence that the plan to include the AU is likely to pass.
Developing world and make international governance system more inclusive
As an expression of its support for the developing world and to make the international governance system more inclusive and representative, India has led the fight to have the AU included in the G20. Sullivan identified the following topics for discussion at the G20: climate change, health, digital transformation, and ethical AI development.
Sullivan pointed to the President’s prior statements on the subject, including those made during the most recent State visit by Modi to the US, in answer to a question about the human rights situation in India and whether it will come up in Biden’s meetings.
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