Concerns over trade, middle east conflict and oil will dominate a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Japan this weekend, with attention focused on a meeting between the leaders of the United States and China.
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Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will meet for the first time in seven months to discuss deteriorating ties between the world's two largest economies.
Prospects of progress look slim, as neither side has given ground after trade talks broke down in May.
The row has disrupted global supply chains and slowed world growth.
But some G20 members have expressed disquiet that it might overshadow efforts to tackle other pressing international issues.
The Sino-US trade clash is "serious", but it shouldn't "take a multilateral body hostage", said a French official.
President Trump will arrive in Osaka just a week after calling off a retaliatory air strike on Iran after it shot down an unmanned US aircraft.
Ominous prospects of Middle East conflict loom over the summit, as the drone shootdown followed a series of explosive strikes on oil tankers in the Gulf.
A White House official said Mr. Trump would meet at least eight world leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to win support for sanctions on Iran.
Japanese host Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants the G20 summit to focus on reforming the World Trade Organisation, empowering female workers and reducing plastic waste in the ocean.
He also wants to discuss global rules for data governance that balance protection of personal and intellectual property with freer flow of medical, industrial and non-personal data.
However, the United States believes China will only gather data but not share it, a Japanese government source said.
Such differences could make it difficult for the leaders to craft a final communique, officials say.
"There's not many topics all participants can agree on," another Japanese government official said. "Maybe plastic garbage reduction is the only area no one opposes."
Australian Associated Press