The challenges facing key players at G20 summit

Global leaders gather in the Argentine capital for a G20 summit beginning on Friday likely to be dominated by simmering international tensions over trade.

Here is a quick guide to what's at stake for the main players.

– United States –

US President Donald Trump, who has shown little interest in multilateral diplomacy, is coming to the Group of 20 summit for high-pressure talks with his counterparts in China and Russia.

Trump has cast his Buenos Aires meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a deadline for Beijing to cave on key trade disputes or risk further sanctions and pressure. The G20 will also mark Trump's first substantive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin since a July summit in Helsinki, where the US leader's deferential tone drew stern rebukes at home.

Trump has resisted once-routine global calls to fight protectionism and in June took the extraordinary step of refusing to sign a statement at a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies, furious at host Canada over trade disputes.

– China –

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet Trump seeking to break an impasse in their trade war on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Xi has cast himself as a defender of globalization and opponent of protectionism, but US and European governments say foreign companies still face many hurdles to conduct business in the Communist-ruled country, including the forced transfer of technology or outright theft of intellectual property.

– Britain –

British Prime Minister Theresa May's appearance is overshadowed by Brexit and in particular her attempt to convince lawmakers to ratify her agreement with the EU.

The crucial vote, which could also decide the fate of her premiership, is due to be held on December 11.

She is widely expected to lose that vote because of fierce opposition from Brexiteer lawmakers within her own Conservative Party, who say it makes too many concessions to Brussels, and pro-EU MPs who say it will devastate the British economy.

May became prime minister in July 2016 in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum and has clung to power despite losing her parliamentary majority in elections in 2017.

She wants post-Brexit Britain to take a leading role on the global stage as an independent trading nation but critics say her country's influence will wane outside of the EU.

– Turkey –

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will seek to use the summit to again project his image on the international stage as a champion of the poor and oppressed as well as an un-ignorable figure in international diplomacy.

The G20 is a crucial forum for Turkey as it seeks to build ties with key African and Latin American nations to assure its status as a global power.

Erdogan is also likely to press for justice on causes close to his heart such as the Palestinians or the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

But the main focus could be on the murder of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at whom Turkish pro-government media have pointed the finger of blame over the killing, expected to also attend. Erdogan and the prince have not met face to face since the crisis erupted.

– Argentina –

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri welcomes world leaders while his country has been brought to its knees by an economic crisis that forced him to seek a massive International Monetary Fund bailout. Hit by recession and 45 percent inflation, the center-right leader's chances of building a strong challenge for a second term in next year's elections look slim.

Deep public spending cuts have sparked a wave of strikes and street protests and Macri's problems have been exacerbated by a falling peso and a dip in the price of soybeans, Argentina's star export.

– Brazil –

With lame duck President Michel Temer in the waning days of his presidency, all eyes are on his far-right successor Jail Bolsonaro, who takes office on January 1. Bolsonaro will be conspicuous by his absence however, declining Temer's invitation to attend on the grounds that he is still recovering from being stabbed and seriously injured during his election campaign. However, some of his top aides are expected to attend and hold their first meetings with the entourages of like-minded protectionist leaders, like Donald Trump.

– Russia –

President Vladimir Putin arrives in Buenos Aires amid accusations from Ukraine that he's preparing for a full-scale war after Russia shot at and captured three of Kiev's ships.

Putin will have a face-to-face meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the summit, amid ongoing accusations that Russia colluded with Trump's campaign team during his 2016 presidential election win.

In power since 1999, Putin is an old hand at international summits and increasingly influential, with his country at the heart of major issues like the war in Syria, EU sanctions or tensions with Ukraine and Washington.

– Saudi Arabia –

Prince Mohammed is expected to represent Riyadh in the face of a global outcry over Khashoggi's murder.

The Gulf state's de facto ruler is likely to face Turkey's Erdogan, who has kept international pressure mounting on the kingdom over the grisly killing in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

The summit would also be an opportunity for the prince to discuss energy markets with leaders of other top oil producers — notably Russia and the United States — amid the current slump in oil prices.

Saudi Arabia is set to host the G20 summit in 2020.

– South Africa –

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to power this year, is a firm supporter of multilateralism and the WTO, often underlining his commitment to international cooperation when speaking at home and abroad.

Facing a tricky election in May, he hopes the G20 summit will help his efforts to attract $100 billion of foreign investment over five years to boost the country's flagging economy and tackle record unemployment of nearly 28 percent.

AFP