China Rebuts US Treasury’s Call for G20 Action on Trade Surplus

China's foreign ministry pushed back Monday against a call by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the G20 to gang up on Beijing over its trade surplus, insisting the bloc pursue "consultation" instead of coordinated pressure.

"China never deliberately pursues a trade surplus and opposes unilateral tariff measures in all forms," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing, responding directly to Bessent's remarks a day earlier.

Bessent had told Reuters on Sunday, ahead of a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, that "the world cannot have a China with a $1.2 trillion trade surplus" and that other member states needed to "examine their terms of trade" with Beijing. He argued China's export-led model, propped up by a weak domestic economy, was forcing the imbalance onto the rest of the world.

Guo did not name Bessent's coordination push directly but said Beijing remained committed to "high-standard opening up" and would offer "new opportunities to all, including the United States" through its market. He called on both governments to act on "important common understandings reached between the two presidents" and resolve disputes "on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit."

Neither side described the exchange as a rupture. Bessent, in the same Reuters interview, said the direct US-China trade relationship was "rapidly improving" and confirmed both countries would proceed with tariff cuts on $30 billion of non-strategic goods each.

The dispute lands three weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned September 24 visit to Washington, adding an edge to a trip both governments have been quietly preparing. Bessent said it remained unclear whether he would meet Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in person before then.

The G20 finance leaders' meeting runs through Tuesday in Asheville, where Bessent is also expected to press members on Iran-related economic measures and global debt.