Image source, Reuters

The G20 has kicked off on the Indonesian island of Bali, where global leaders are discussing issues like food security and debt relief.

Here's what's happened so far:

• Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a virtual appearance at the summit, where he called for Russia's "destructive war" to end
• Similarly, UK PM Rishi Sunak criticised the "Putin regime", saying it had "stifled domestic dissent and fabricated a veneer of validity only through violence"
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in the room listening to Sunak's comments - Vladimir Putin has decided not to attend
• Sunak also said he believed China posed a "systematic challenge" to the UK's values, but did not clarify if he would commit - like his predecessor Liz Truss - to recategorising China as a "threat" to national security
• About an hour ago, the leaders took a break from the summit to head for lunch at the luxury Apurva Kempinski hotel - with some of them being driven to the venue by Indonesian President Joko Widodo himself

Image source, PA Media

On the plane to Bali, Rishi Sunak was asked whether he would commit, like his predecessor Liz Truss, to recategorising China as a "threat" to national security.

During the leadership campaign Liz Truss had pledged to reopen the integrated review, published last year, which lays out the UK's priorities in diplomacy and defence.

Sunak said he believed China posed a "systemic challenge" to the UK's values but he did not say he would stick with Truss' commitment to officially reclassify China in the integrated review.

“My view on China is straightforward. I think that China unequivocally poses a systemic threat - well, a systemic challenge - to our values and our interests and is undoubtedly the biggest state-based threat to our economic security... that’s how I think about China," he said.

"That's why it’s important that we take the powers that we need to defend ourselves against that. For example the National Security Investment Act is a good example of that.

"But I also think that China is an indisputable fact of the global economy and we’re not going to be able to resolve shared global challenges like climate change, or public health, or indeed actually dealing with Russia and Ukraine, without having a dialogue with them.”

The Prime Minister was also asked whether he thought the UK should send arms to Taiwan.

He said: “We’re looking at all of these policies as part of our refresh of the integrated review. Our policy on Taiwan is obviously there should be no unilateral change to the status and there should be a peaceful resolution to that situation. We stand ready to support Taiwan as we do in standing up to Chinese aggression.”

Image source, PMO India/Twitter

Indian PM Narendra Modi’s office has tweeted a photo of the Indian leader speaking to UK PM Rishi Sunak.

We don’t know the details of the conversation yet, but the first meeting between Modi and Sunak - the UK’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister - was much anticipated in India. The 42-year-old is also married to Akshata Murty, daughter of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy.

Modi had congratulated Sunak on a phone call after he came to power, and tweeted that they had “agreed on the importance of early conclusion of a comprehensive and balanced [free trade agreement]”.

A trade pact aims to double bilateral trade by 2030 - the two countries are now looking to finalise the agreement by the end of March, according to Reuters.

At the 2008 and 2009 leaders' summits, during the financial crisis, leaders agreed on a host of measures to rescue the global economic system.

However, some critics argue that subsequent summits have been less constructive - often as a result of tensions between rival powers.

But that hasn't always been the case - in 2019 in Japan, then-US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping agreed to resume talks to settle a major trade dispute.

Read more - Why are world leaders gathering in Bali?

Tessa Wong
Reporting from Bali

Image source, Reuters

The G20 leaders and various heads of global organisations have arrived for lunch at the luxury Apurva Kempinski hotel - and some got the extra VIP treatment.

Upon arriving at the hotel entrance, Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided to hop into the driver’s seat of a golf buggy and ferry several guests, including Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund, to the beachfront venue.

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, especially Mr Widodo who was grinning ear to ear - except the two stern-faced bodyguards sat at the back. They were trailed by a contingent of black-suited delegates and aides.

The luncheon is being held under a vast bamboo structure where guests are dining in a massive circular table. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia’s leader Mohammed bin Salman were spotted milling around, while the International Olympic Committee’s Thomas Bach gave an opening address.

Fifa president Giovanni Infantino sat and listened - with a football inexplicably placed in front of him, in case anyone had any doubt of who he was.

No word yet on what’s on the menu, but we’re sure it’ll be delicious.

Analyst James Crabtree of the Institute of Strategic Studies has been telling the BBC's Karishma Vaswani about what would constitute success for the summit.

"This is the body that came together in 2008 and 2009, and was the focal point of getting the world out of the global financial crisis. Now we have comparably complex challenges," he said.

"So inflation, food insecurity, the climate transition, a whole host of issues... but because the United States and China and Russia are unable to cooperate with one another, then any progress on those issues is going to be incremental at best. So you have a body that is now much less than the sum of its parts," he said.

However, he adds that there will some success - and opportunities created - as a result of the summit.

"The fact that Xi and Biden [are meeting], or Xi to meet Australian President Albanese... these are not insignificant things. So I think the success will simply be that some of the leaders will talk to one another, and maybe there'll be tiny bits of progress on the broader G20 agenda in areas like climate change."

The fact that the meeting is happening at all, is another success in itself, he adds.

"When the Ukraine invasion happened, people worried that this entire G20 would collapse... that there simply wouldn't be able to be a meeting because of the disagreements," he said.

Vincent Piket, the EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, has tweeted a picture of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky delivering his speech to the G20 via video link.

Russia's FM Sergei Lavrov was present as Zelensky delivered his comments, AFP reported.

As we reported earlier, Zelensky told the assembled leaders that "now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped. It will save thousands of lives".

Image source, Getty Images

India's Modi has called for a “return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy” in Ukraine.

Speaking at a session on food and energy security, he said that global supply chains were “in ruins” because of problems caused by climate change, the Covid pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

He also emphasised the role of G20 leaders in “creating a new world order” after the pandemic.

“Over the past century, World War Two wreaked havoc in the world. After that, the leaders of that time made a serious effort to take the path of peace. Now it's our turn,” he said.

At the session, which also had US president Joe Biden and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov in attendance, Modi said that India’s energy security was crucial for global growth.

“We must not promote any restrictions on the supply of energy and stability in the energy market should be ensured,” he said.

Indian leaders have repeatedly said that the country will continue buying oil from Russia despite Western pressure to isolate Putin.

Chris Mason
Political editor, reporting from Bali

Image source, Reuters

Three weeks to the day into the job; Rishi Sunak is on the world stage.

At the formal opening session of the G20 Summit, he said the “Putin regime” had "stifled domestic dissent and fabricated a veneer of validity only through violence” and is hearing “a chorus of global opposition to its actions".

Sunak also addressed Russia’s representative in the room, the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - the first time a British Prime Minister has confronted a senior Russian figure face-to-face since the war began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Russia's "destructive war" to end.

"I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped. It will save thousands of lives," he told the G20 summit in Bali via video address on Tuesday, according to a speech in Ukrainian obtained by AFP.

He addressed leaders like US President Biden and Chinese leader Xi - and made a point of leaving out Russia.

"There cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail," he added, specifically thanking the "G19" - and excluding Russia - for "making this clear".

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending the summit, but his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is there instead.

Image source, Get

Tom Spender
Reporting from Singapore

Former Australian PM Kevin Rudd has been in the BBC's Singapore bureau this morning - he offered what he called a "deeply realist" reading of yesterday's Biden-Xi meeting.

"They rearticulated each other’s fundamental bottom lines, and the Chinese used the term 'insurmountable red lines' over Taiwan," he said.

"Nonetheless what they pointed to was a pathway forward to what I describe as stabilisation mechanisms for the overall relationship."

Rudd - who is now president of the Asia Society - said it was welcome that that the two countries were adopting a more conciliatory tone, and that China in particular had made some concrete suggestions.

"They talk about putting new protections into the relationship, they talk about need for a new security safety net – an 'anquanwang' - they talk about need for senior officials to maintain strategic communications and the resuscitation of the US-China joint working group, as well as indications that bilateral finance and climate work can resume.

"These add up to a lowering of the temperature - but we should be under no illusions how much work remains to be done, given that their ultimate positions at this stage appear to be irreconcilable."

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory. Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the mainland. Biden has repeatedly said that US forces would help Taiwan defend itself if China invaded.

Image source, Getty Images

The world’s fourth most populous country is this week being thrust onto the world stage as it plays host to various world leaders and dignataries.

Dozens have descended on the tourist island of Bali, once a busy tourism hub, but one that fell relatively silent since the pandemic.

Pre-Covid, roughly six million foreigners arrived in Bali each year. In 2021, that number dropped sharply.

So Indonesia hopes the summit will help the island recover.

The country’s president Joko Widodo has widely been seen as adopting a relatively neutral foreign policy - he had in an earlier interview with the Financial Times newspaper expressed frustration that politics, instead of the economy, would overshadow the summit.

“The G20 is not meant to be a political forum. It’s meant to be about economics and development,” he said.

Sharanya Hrishikesh
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, Getty Images

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s schedule in Indonesia has been described as “jam-packed” by some media outlets at home.

Apart from attending three working sessions on the key themes for this year’s summit - food and energy security, digital transmission and health - he will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines with several world leaders.

There is no official confirmation, but some major news outlets have reported that this could include UK’s Rishi Sunak and France’s Emmanuel Macron.

If Modi meets Sunak - whose connection with India was celebrated in the country when he became Prime Minister - there will be a lot of interest in any updates on the free trade agreement both countries have been trying to hammer out.

It’s still not clear whether Modi will hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping - ties between the two neighbours have been tense since a deadly border clash in 2020, and the leaders did not meet separately at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in September.

Modi is also set to address members of the Indian diaspora in Bali on Tuesday.

But the highlight of the summit for Modi and India will be the closing ceremony, when Indonesian President Joko Widodo will officially hand over the G20 presidency - an event that Modi has termed “a matter of pride for every Indian”.

The Indian leader has said he will extend a “personal invitation to G20 members and other invitees” to next year’s summit in India.

Image source, Getty Images

China and France should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, China's President Xi Jinping said in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a readout by Chinese state media.

The Chinese president said the two had "maintained a positive momentum of development", but hoped that France could provide a fairer and more just business environment for Chinese companies to develop in France.

The pair also discussed the issue of Ukraine, with Xi saying that China's position on the crisis was clear - that he advocated for a ceasefire and peace talks.

We haven't heard from the French yet.

Indonesian President and G20 chair Joko Widodo has officially opened the G20 summit on Tuesday, telling world leaders in his opening remarks that the war in Ukraine "must end".

"If the war does not end, it will be difficult for us to move on. We should not divide the world into parts," he said. "We must not allow the world to fall into another Cold War."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has made his way to the G20 summit this morning, where he was greeted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

It comes after an earlier report by the Associated Press, citing Indonesian officials, which said Lavrov had been taken to hospital with a heart condition.

Russia's Foreign Ministry later denied the report, calling it the "height of fakery".

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster told Reuters that Lavrov had been taken to hospital for a "check-up", and left in good health.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The G20 summit is just kicking off now, but we've already seen a flurry of activity emerge from it - most notably, the meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping yesterday.

The two discussed issues like Taiwan, North Korea and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a lengthy three-hour meeting, which ended late in the evening.

Following the meeting, Mr Biden promised there would be no "new Cold War" with China, adding that he did not believe China would invade Taiwan.

In recent days Mr Biden and US officials have stressed repeatedly that the US does not want conflict with China, while maintaining a sense of strong competition.

Mr Xi appeared to be on the same page, acknowledging in the meeting's opening remarks that "we need to chart the right course for the China-US relationship", given that "the world has come to a crossroads".

"China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game in which you rise and I fall… the wide Earth is fully capable of accommodating the development and common prosperity of China and the United States", said Mr Xi, according to the Chinese readout.

Read more about what happened at the meeting here.

Image source, Getty Images

Upon touching down in Bali, each world leader has been greeted by elaborately dressed dancers performing a traditional dance.

This is the Pendet dance - a Bali-specific dance performed at ceremonies to welcome important guests.

Pendet is normally performed by five to seven female dancers who wear scarves wrapped around their body and headpieces adorned with flowers and sometimes a dragon figure.

The dancers typically also carry a bowl of flowers which they sprinkle on the audience. However there's been no flower throwing so far at the G20.

Image source, Getty Images

One meeting due to happen shortly is that between French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Macron intends to "pressure" Russia to return to the negotiating table over Ukraine, a French official has been telling reporters.

The French leader will tell Xi that his "interest, like mine, is to put pressure on Russia so it returns to the negotiating table and respects international law", according to an AFP report.

This is not the first time China has been asked to use its influence on Russia.

According to a readout of Xi's meeting with Biden yesterday, the two leaders agreed that nuclear weapons should never be used in Ukraine.

China and Russia agreed a "friendship without limits" in February, shortly before Russia invaded its neighbour.