Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that China prevented the Group of 20 from issuing a joint communique following a gathering of finance and central bank chiefs this week. The failure to reach an agreement stemmed from a dispute over China's giant trade surplus.
Bessent stated that 19 members of the G20 agreed to address streams of cheap exports that cause global economic imbalances. However, China dissented, as Bessent accused the country of flooding the world with these cheap exports.
The Treasury Secretary urged other G20 countries to do more to protect their economies from Chinese imports. He specifically called on governments to protect their manufacturing bases as U.S. tariffs redirect Chinese goods toward their markets.