China blocks G20 economic communique over trade dispute – Bessent

“The country with the world’s largest and unsustainable current account surplus, the People’s Republic of China, was the dissenter,” Bessent said. “Non-market based economies pushing out a never-ending spring of cheap exports is not sustainable.”

China did not directly address Bessent’s comments, but Chinese Vice Finance Minister Liao Min called on G20 members to “safeguard free trade, promote inclusive and broad-based economic globalization, and create a favorable policy environment for international trade and capital flows.”

The lack of consensus forced the host nation to forgo the traditional joint communique, a dynamic that has repeated itself since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Instead, the U.S. issued a statement on behalf of its G20 presidency that was supported by 19 of the member nations – including Russia.

The statement noted that “countries with excessive and persistent external surpluses should remove distortions that constrain domestic consumption and that result in an overreliance on exports for growth.” China dissented to paragraphs on the free flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the creation of a task force to further study and alleviate trade imbalances, the IMF’s powers to monitor those imbalances and provisions tied to debt restructuring.

Bessent linked the deadlock directly to China's record $1.2 trillion trade surplus, which surged 20% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit with China reached roughly $200 billion last year, Bloomberg reported.

The G20 financial summit wrapped up on September 1, 2026, after a two-day meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a one-on-one meeting with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on the sidelines of the summit to discuss President Donald Trump’s Ukraine peace plan.

European allies expressed outrage at Russia's return to the G20, with German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil telling Siluanov “straight to his face” that Moscow must end the war against Ukraine. European leaders also refused to take a group photo with the Russian delegation.