BIARRITZ, France — France's Atlantic coast is famous for its storms and several were brewing as G7 leaders gathered for a summit in the glitzy beach resort of Biarritz.

France's President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for the world's economic kingpins to pull back from the brink of an all-out trade war and prevent a major global economic slowdown, but U.S. President Donald Trump showed no signs of backing down from his all-out assault on China and Europe.

Macron and Trump kept things cordial in front of the press when they met for lunch before the summit began. Trump said he and Macron "actually have a lot in common." He said "once in a while we go at it just a little bit, not very much" and "I think we will accomplish a lot this weekend.’”

But behind the scenes, French and U.S. officials offered very different views of the summit. Senior U.S. officials opened fire on arrival, with one of them accusing Macron of seeking "to fracture the G7." The official accused Macron of trying to shift focus away from trade to issues such as climate change, which will play well in France and leave the U.S. looking isolated. That charge was swiftly denied by the French camp.

Before the summit kicked off with a dinner at a local lighthouse, Macron insisted he is out to prevent a further escalation of trade conflicts. "Trade tensions are bad for everyone, we have to try to get a de-escalation, to stabilize things to avoid this trade war that is happening everywhere," the French president said in a video address.

What was already expected to be a difficult summit — with export-dependent Germany lurching toward recession and Britain facing the trauma of a no-deal Brexit — moved into openly confrontational territory in the final days leading up to the gathering.

"Time is going to be short because there are so many problems" — Angela Merkel, German chancellor

Late on Friday, Trump announced increased tariffs on all imports of Chinese goods, amid a tit-for-tat escalation with Beijing, and issued an extraordinary order for U.S. companies to disinvest from China and pull their manufacturing back to the United States. He also directly threatened his French counterpart, saying that the G7 host has to drop his "unfair" digital tax or "we’ll be taxing their wine like they’ve never seen before.”

Trump also made clear that there is a huge gulf on the environmental implications of trade policy between Washington on one side, and Canada, Japan and the EU on the other.

Relations between European leaders and right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have reached rock bottom over fires raging through the Amazon, and Macron even threatened to kill off a landmark EU trade deal with South America unless Bolsonaro takes action to tackle deforestation.

The response from across the Atlantic was a cordial display between Trump and Bolsonaro, underpinned by the suggestion that the U.S. and Brazil could seal a trade accord instead. After the two spoke by telephone, Bolsonaro wrote in a tweet that he and Trump share "a mutual desire to launch a great trade negotiation shortly.” Trump responded that "our future Trade prospects are very exciting and our relationship is strong, perhaps stronger than ever before."

Macron's emphasis on the environment was a particular grievance in the U.S. camp. U.S. officials accused the French leader of focusing on issues such as climate change and gender equality to leave Washington in the cold. A senior administration official said France decided "months ago" not to aim for a final communiqué on which there could be a consensus. "This was done to appease and play to Macron's base and domestic audience," the official said.

An Elysée official dismissed the charges leveled by the U.S. camp as unfounded. The official said Macron always intended to have trade high on the agenda but it is also important to discuss other related issues.

"It’s also not either-or — it’s not either climate or trade, it’s both," the official said. "So trade was always a part of the agenda, just like inequalities, climate and digital are topics we can’t afford to exclude from a summit like this — topics that are as important to public opinion.”

The official also took issue with the idea that avoiding a final communiqué is a tactic intended to make the U.S. look isolated. “It is not true that, because we are avoiding a communiqué, we are not seeking consensus. Communiqués always reflect the lowest common denominator — instead we are looking to build a consensus as large as possible," the French official said.

The main summit action gets under way on Sunday. Over their dinner of fresh red tuna and other local specialties on Saturday night, the leaders discussed foreign policy issues, with Iran, Syria, Hong Kong and Russia all on the agenda. Only the leaders and a few close aides attended, and few details of their talks emerged after the meal.

'Eroding trust'

Just before the summit got under way, the EU sounded the alarm about trade wars and a general failure of the G7 to unite around a common worldview.

Addressing reporters on Saturday, a few hours ahead of the official opening of the summit, European Council President Donald Tusk said that "trade wars will lead to recession, while deals will boost the economy," and stressed that "this [Sino-American] confrontation can be really risky for the whole world, including the EU."

Tusk also jousted with Boris Johnson over Brexit before the new British prime minister had even arrived at the summit. Each said the other could go down in history as "Mr. No Deal" with no mutually acceptable divorce agreement in sight as Britain's October 31 departure date from the EU looms large.

The G7 gathering consists of the leaders of the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and Japan, although Macron has invited other leaders to join them for parts of the summit program. Trade and the global economy are the first items on the agenda on Sunday.

A slowdown in China is a particular concern for Germany, which is highly dependent on selling machinery and components to the Asian powerhouse.

The U.S. trade war with China, the threats against the French digital service tax as well as the EU's beef with Brazil won't be the only hot trade issues in Biarritz. Trump is also gearing up to roll out tariffs on European products linked to an airplane subsidy dispute and is continually threatening to impose duties on European cars.

The global outlook is also souring quickly because of worsening ties between South Korea and Japan, two powerhouses of high-end manufacturing, which has raised fears that global supply chains will be increasingly disrupted in sectors such as chemicals and semiconductors.

"Trade wars among G7 members will lead to weakening the already eroding trust among us" — Donald Tusk, European Council president

If that weren't enough, the World Trade Organization's appellate body — the highest international court that is meant to stop trade returning to an unsupervised law of the jungle — is close to collapse, largely thanks to Trump's refusal to allow the appointment of judges.

"Time is going to be short because there are so many problems," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a video message on Saturday ahead of the summit.

Driven by the importance of its auto and engineering industries, Germany has opposed Macron's appeal to block the EU's trade deal with Mercosur, which would open up a lucrative export market to German producers. A German government spokesperson said Friday that “failure to conclude the Mercosur agreement would not help to reduce deforestation in Brazil,” and added that such threats to Bolsonaro are "therefore not the appropriate response."

Tusk said Saturday that the EU "of course stand[s] by the EU-Mercosur agreement," but cautioned that it is "hard to imagine a harmonious process of ratification by the European countries as long as the Brazilian government allows for the destruction of the green lungs of planet Earth."

Tusk also issued a direct appeal to Trump not to extend his tariff war to the EU: "Trade wars among G7 members will lead to weakening the already eroding trust among us," he said, and added: "If the U.S. imposes tariffs on France, the EU will respond in kind ... We have to be ready for this bad scenario."

David M. Herszenhorn and Charlie Cooper contributed reporting.