TOKYO, Sept 2 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- China on Tuesday refused to accept a US-drafted joint statement summarising the results of a Group of 20 finance meeting, deciding not to work with other members on rectifying global trade imbalances, Kyodo News reported.
Because China objected to parts of the communique language, the United States instead issued a G20 chair's statement after the two-day meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, saying, "We agree that countries should take steps to eliminate nonmarket policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances."
Apart from China, all of the G20 members present, including Russia, agreed to the chair's statement. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters, "We do see that there is great alignment."
The finance ministers and central bank governors of the other members confirmed that countries, especially those with excessive and long-running external surpluses, should "remove distortions that constrain domestic consumption and that result in an overreliance on exports for growth".
South Africa, which served as the G20 chair in 2025, was excluded from the meeting by US President Donald Trump's administration, according to G20 officials.
Trump, who boycotted last year's G20 summit, has accused South Africa of allowing violence against minority white farmers and seizures of their land, which its government has firmly denied.
The statement revealed which issues China opposed. They included the group's efforts to secure reliable supply chains for critical minerals and improve the global sovereign debt architecture.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said at a press conference that the United States' handling of the situation was "tactful".
Some G20 officials said it was meaningful to release the statement this way, clarifying China's reluctance to address economic problems, rather than endorsing a watered-down joint communique by accepting its demands.
The discord between China and the other G20 members emerged about three weeks before Trump's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, at which trade tensions between the world's two largest economies and export restrictions are certain to top the agenda.
China has consistently rejected Western criticism that it has flooded the world with cheap exports from companies backed by heavy government subsidies.
The finance meeting came as many governments worldwide are struggling to keep long-term bond yields under control and with little apparent hope that the US-Israeli war against Iran will end anytime soon.
As the war started by the United States and Israel in late February has driven up global energy prices and disrupted supply chains, inflation has shown signs of rising, with policymakers and investors concerned about borrowing costs.
A sell-off in global bond markets is accelerating, with Japan's 10-year bond yield hitting 3 per cent on Tuesday for the first time since 1996.
Still, the finance chiefs agreed "the global economy has remained resilient in the face of multiple shocks, including ongoing wars and conflicts", and that private investment should be an important source of growth.
They said their central banks are strongly committed to maintaining price stability and reaffirmed the group's commitment to ensure that exchange rates reflect underlying economic fundamentals.
The G20 ministerial meeting was convened to lay the groundwork for a summit to be hosted by Trump in Florida in December, at which he intends to showcase the strength of the American economy.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO