China has blocked consensus at a G20 finance ministers’ summit after opposing language backed by the United States and other members calling for action against “non-market policies” blamed for worsening global trade imbalances.
Beijing objected to several provisions in the proposed communiqué, including language on the smooth functioning of global supply chains for energy, food, fertiliser and critical minerals, according to US and European officials. The disagreement prevented the group from issuing a statement backed by all members.
The United States, which hosted the meeting in North Carolina, instead released a “chair statement” late on Tuesday that was agreed by every G20 member except China. US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said he had “hoped to be able to announce [a] unanimous joint communiqué” but that, because of one member, the group was “not able to achieve a complete consensus”.
US officials said G20 members including Japan, France, the UK, the EU, India and Russia had agreed on the need for “steps to eliminate non-market policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances”. China, however, objected specifically to the phrase “non-market policies”, according to two US officials and a senior European Commission official.
Beijing also resisted proposals for the International Monetary Fund and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to improve the data available to analyse such policies.
“It came down to a few words. As we have seen with the Chinese, they try to slow things down and methodically change the nomenclature. We’re not going for that,” said the senior US official. “They need to seriously reconsider this. If they can’t even agree on words, they certainly won’t be able to deliver on any action.”
The European official described the dispute as a “lost opportunity for the global economy”. The disagreement comes amid growing concern over Chinese exports, which are widely viewed as being driven by domestic overcapacity, a position Beijing rejects.
China’s trade surplus with the EU reached €360bn in 2025, according to EU data, while the United States is working on imposing duties on China and other countries aimed at addressing overcapacity.
One provision opposed by Beijing said that “countries with excessive and persistent external surpluses should remove distortions that constrain domestic consumption and that result in an over-reliance on exports for growth”. Although China was not named, the language was understood as a reference to Beijing.
China also objected to references to critical minerals. Beijing threatened last year to introduce sweeping global export controls on such minerals after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on China. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a truce in their trade war last October, but US officials say China has not fully met its commitments to ensure supplies of rare earths. Washington also wants Beijing to ease export restrictions affecting Japan, which is important to US supply chains.
“Their behaviour towards Japan is appalling,” said the senior US official.
Beijing further objected to language concerning predictable navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, citing concerns over its implications for the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, over which China claims sovereignty.
The summit was intended to promote global economic growth, address economic imbalances and discuss ways of restructuring sovereign debt. China also opposed language affirming G20 “solidarity” with a “Common Framework” designed to help heavily indebted countries reduce their liabilities, particularly those owed to China.
The divisions emerged just three weeks before Xi is due to visit Washington for a summit with Trump and three months before G20 leaders meet in Miami for their annual summit.
The meeting was also marked by wider political tensions. European officials refused on Monday to be pictured alongside Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov, while German and EU ministers criticised Trump’s global trade war, with EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis describing tariffs as “counter-productive”.
Despite the disputes, a senior European official said G20 members strongly appreciated the US effort to address overcapacity and other issues raised during the two-day meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment.
