Modi, Xi and Putin to have trilateral summit at G­20

China on Monday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold their second trilateral summit in Osaka, Japan, during the G­20 summit later this week.

During a media briefing on the two­day G­20 summit that begins on June 28, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said the meeting of the three leaders, who had recently met at Bishkek at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, was of “great significance”. He also signaled that the top­level trilateral mechanism of Russia, India, and China (RIC) had now become institutionalized.

“Indeed, during the Osaka summit, the leaders of China, Russia and India will have a trilateral meeting. The mechanism of the trilateral meeting has maintained a sound momentum of development,” Mr. Zhang said.

“Last year, during the Buenos Aires G­20 summit, the leaders had a meeting. And this time, given the current international landscape, the meeting of the three leaders is also of great significance,” he said, responding to a question.

Without naming the U.S., the Chinese diplomat stressed that ahead of the summit, the “international community has fully recognized the repercussions of unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practices”.

China’s Vice­Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, who also briefed the media, asserted, in reference to Washington, that “some individual country has been insisting on unilateralism, protectionism, abusing trade remedial measures (and) national security exceptionalism. That country has slapped tariffs on its trading partners, causing a major threat to global trade, investment, and economic growth”.

The trio will meet again in September in Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum, where Mr. Modi will be the chief guest.