US Urges G20 to Raise Trade Barriers on China to Reduce Global Trade Imbalances

US urges G20 to raise trade barriers against China to reduce global trade imbalances

August 31

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he will urge member countries at the upcoming G20 meeting to review trade terms with China in order to reduce global trade imbalances.

Bessent said the world cannot continue to accept China's current situation, where its trade surplus has reached around $1.2 trillion.

The US Treasury Secretary also said China's government needs to be pushed to reduce its excessive reliance on exports and focus more on domestic consumption and demand.

Bessent pointed out that although high tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese imports have reduced the entry of Chinese goods into the US market, those goods are now flowing in large volumes into other markets, including Europe and Latin America.

Therefore, Bessent said other countries need to review trade terms to push China, which has weak domestic demand, to move away from its export-dependent system.

Due to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, the trade deficit between the US and China fell to $73.9 billion in the first half of 2026, a decline of about one-third compared to the first half of 2025.

Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has assessed that the Chinese yuan is undervalued by up to 21 percent, Bessent said that attempting to raise the yuan's value without addressing the core problems of trade imbalance — namely excessive government subsidies to Chinese industries and weak domestic demand — would not be effective.

Late next month, President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet, and ahead of the talks, discussions are expected on reducing tariffs on non-strategic goods between the two countries and on controls over advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Ref & Photo; Reuters

News Channel