Following days of meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, that brought together finance ministers and central bank chiefs, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China declined to join the rest of the Group of 20 on new language that "non-market based economies pushing out a never-ending stream of cheap exports is not sustainable." He added, "I'd hoped to be able to announce a unanimous joint communiqué today," but argued the agreement by the other 19 "shows the sheer the enormity of the problem."
Bessent said the group plans follow‑through, noting the members will move in the coming "days, weeks or months" to "reach a resolution on this unsustainable equilibrium."
Treasury published the joint statement Tuesday along with a footnote recording China's objections. It said Beijing rejected a paragraph where the 19 agreed "that countries should take steps to eliminate non-market policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances." That same section pressed countries with "excessive and persistent external surpluses" to remove distortions that hold back domestic consumption and leave growth overly dependent on exports.
Treasury also noted that Beijing took issue with wording voicing concern about continuing interruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is a critical oil corridor that, amid Iran's war with the U.S., Iran has effectively blocked. In addition, China balked at sections that lauded the International Monetary Fund's "surveillance of global imbalances," and that spotlighted "countries where a meaningful share of external debt is owed to G20 members."
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Bessent's remarks come as he leads the Trump administration's "Operation Economic Outcast," which seeks to squeeze Iran's economy by threatening secondary sanctions on its business partners. The approach has prompted questions about potential U.S. action toward China, Iran's top trading partner and by far its biggest buyer of Iranian oil. Extended trade negotiations with Beijing are still underway, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has a U.S. visit set for late September.
"With China on Iran, we have more in common than we have differences," Bessent said.
China's embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bessent's remarks. For everyday investors, the takeaway is straightforward: if 19 major economies are signaling coordinated moves on trade distortions and shipping risks while Washington tests secondary sanctions, supply chains and pricing power could shift again. Keep an eye on export‑heavy sectors and energy transport routes that set the tone for costs at the pump and on store shelves.