US-China showdown expected at the G-20 meeting this weekend

WASHINGTON - After months of growing friction and escalating tariffs, President Donald Trump will meet this weekend in Argentina with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a face-off that could prove pivotal not only for U.S. businesses and consumers, but also for the global economy and increasingly fragile international order.

The private dinner Saturday between the leaders of the world's two largest economies is likely to overshadow the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, which begins Friday, and will focus on such matters as sustainable development and work in the digital age.

Over the last year, the United States and China have exchanged volleys of punitive tariffs that now amount to a substantial tax on half of all Chinese imports to America, and most of American exports to China.

Unless China caves in to his demands, Trump is threatening to boost the tariffs and extend them to all