Business & Finance
China dissents as G20 finance leaders back statement on trade imbalances and shipping
Nineteen members backed language targeting non-market policies and Strait of Hormuz disruptions, while Western allies expressed discomfort over a Russian minister's attendance.
The short version
- G20 finance ministers concluded talks in North Carolina with China emerging as the sole dissenter from a statement criticizing non-market trade practices and addressing Middle East shipping disruptions.
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed allies to curb Chinese imports and reduce imbalances, while European ministers voiced frustration over both US tariff policies and the presence of Russia's finance minister.
- The meeting sets the groundwork for further economic coordination and an upcoming leaders' summit in Miami, with unresolved tensions surrounding planned US secondary sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Key facts
- China was the only G20 member to dissent from the chair's final statement following two days of finance meetings in Asheville, North Carolina.[France 24 · CNBC]
- The US Treasury Department reported that China objected specifically to language addressing non-market trade practices, global imbalances, IMF surveillance, external debt, and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.[France 24 · CNBC]
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on other countries to take action against cheap exports from non-market economies, arguing that US tariffs had diverted excess Chinese goods to other markets.[Al Jazeera · CNBC]
- European and Canadian officials criticized the attendance of unsanctioned Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov during the war in Ukraine, though Bessent defended the engagement and said it did not disrupt negotiations.[France 24]
- German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil cited US tariff disputes and the conflict involving Iran as major sources of uncertainty undermining international economic growth.[Al Jazeera]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unclear how the US will enforce proposed secondary sanctions under 'Operation Economic Outcast' against China, which is Iran's primary oil purchaser, ahead of a scheduled US visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.[CNBC]
- The specific timeline and scope of policy measures the 19 other G20 members might implement to address trade imbalances have not been determined.[Al Jazeera · CNBC]