From August 31 to September 1 local time, the G20 Finance Ministers' Meeting hosted by the United States was held in Asheville, North Carolina. According to a report by Reuters on September 1, Aileen Brown, the Under Secretary for International Affairs of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, stated in an interview on Tuesday that due to ongoing differences in wording among participants, it may be impossible to reach a joint G20 statement reflecting the United States' priorities in reducing global imbalances and sovereign debt restructuring.
We have been working on drafting a statement, but hope to ensure that it reflects American interests and the priority of "American first." If we are unable to reach consensus in the end, we also accept this. Brown added that a contingency plan is to issue a Chairman's Summary Statement.
Brown acknowledged that there were differences among parties regarding how to describe the so-called global imbalance issue, but refused to disclose China's specific position during the negotiation of the communiqué. He only stated that many G20 countries agreed on the importance of reducing imbalances.
On that day, the Trump administration continued tirelessly to blame China for “impacting U.S. imports,” and tried to incite other G20 members to take trade measures against China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin boasted at the Ashville meeting that he had warned other trading partners last year that higher U.S. tariffs would cause Chinese goods to flow into their markets. He also used threats to claim that such trade actions were “taking away” the much-needed growth momentum of the global economy.
According to reports, EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis agreed with this statement. However, he also said that both the United States and Europe should play a role in balancing the economy.
German Finance Minister Lars Krübbé was even more direct in his statement. He said that the war against Iran led by the United States and Israel, along with the ongoing US tariff disputes, are the main causes of global economic uncertainty.
He said: “Uncertainty is the poison of economic growth. The tariff conflicts provoked by the United States, such as the current dispute with Canada, are destroying trust.”
Earlier, Besent claimed that the world cannot allow China to have a trade surplus of $1.2 trillion, and that the G20 should reconsider its trade terms with China.
On August 31, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun responded to this issue at a regular press conference. He stated that the essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win results. The Chinese side never deliberately pursues a trade surplus and opposes all forms of unilateral tariff measures. We adhere to opening up at a high level, and use China's large market to provide new opportunities for all parties, including the United States.
"China and the United States should jointly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state. They should resolve relevant issues on an equal, respectful, and mutually beneficial basis, and maintain the hard-won good momentum in the current economic and trade fields."
