US President Donald Trump praised the G20 Emergency Summit that was hosted by șÚÁÏÉçÇűâs King Salman on Thursday and carried out by teleconference.
During his daily coronavirus update at the White House, Trump said he was encouraged by the meeting and declared âwe will vanquish this virus.â
He praised the virtual summit â organized by șÚÁÏÉçÇű, which holds the presidency of the G20 this year â saying: âWe had a great meeting. We have had a lot of different ideas. Weâre working togetherâŠto discuss the problem that 151 nations have gotâŠhopefully (coronavirus) wonât be a problem for much longer.
âWe are working to stop the spread of the virus and coordinate our effortsâŠsharing dataâŠit was a terrific meeting. Tremendous spirit among all of those countries.â
On Wednesday, before the teleconference, Trump said that he did not favor the option of lifting tariffs, as has been demanded by China, and that he would continue to push for âstrong borders.â
âIâm very strong on borders and I donât want people coming in here,â Trump said when asked about the G20, tariffs and borders.
Earlier, Trump said that in joining the G20 discussion he was not planning a âcoordinatedâ strategy with other nations. âIâm not going to do anything rash or hastily. I donât do that,â he said.
Trumpâs comments contrasted his message at the G20 in June last year when he was promoting âWorldwide economic growth and prosperityâ through a series of policies. He advised the attendees at the time that countries should focus on implementing pro-growth policies that will help spur their economies, such as reforming tax laws, cutting regulations and promoting currency stability. He also put great emphasis on what he called âunfair trade practicesâ by some countries, such as China.
During Thursdayâs summit, the G20 leaders said they hope to raise $5 trillion to fight the pandemic, will share more health data and address potential trade-war disruptions.
Partisan and often angry political debate has mired the US response to the rapid spread of the coronavirus and caused some delays, including passage of an economic stimulus package to help the economy.
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