Merkel greets G20 leaders ahead of summit set for climate change showdown

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeted the leaders of the world's top economic powers as they arrived at the G20 Summit in Hamburg on Friday.

G20 leaders later took a family photo before meeting for a working lunch on global trade.

The two-day summit is expected to focus on global economic growth, the spread of digital technology and Africa's development. Issues including counter-terrorism, free trade and climate change are also on the agenda.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet his US counterpart Donald Trump during the summit. Xi has said there could be no final G20 communique on environmental issues without the US being a signatory – a situation which is likely to present problems given Donald Trump’s climate change skepticism.

In a joint communique issued as the leaders gathered in Hamburg, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China, called on the G20 to push for implementation of the Paris climate deal despite Trump's decision last month to pull the US out of it.

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