US to Step Up Pressure on G20 to Cut Imports of Chinese Goods; China Fires Back

The United States is signaling a full-fledged effort to ramp up multilateral pressure aimed at curbing exports of China's overproduction.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed this stance in an interview with Reuters on the 30th, local time, just a day ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers meeting.

Bessent stated that the massive volume of exports gushing from China is unsustainable and that he plans to urge the G20 to review trade terms with China as a way to reduce global imbalances.

"The world cannot absorb a China that runs a trade surplus of 1.2 trillion dollars, or about 1,700 trillion won," he emphasized, adding, "China's domestic economy is very weak and it is trying to export its way out of that situation, but it needs to rebalance its own economy."

This argument posits that when China sells the fruits of overproduction—which go unsold in its domestic market due to sluggish consumption—abroad at cheap prices, it devastates the manufacturing sectors of importing countries. Furthermore, as China racks up an overwhelming surplus, its trading partners suffer corresponding deficits and debt.

Bessent pointed out that after the United States blocked a significant portion of Chinese exports by imposing high tariffs and comprehensive import bans on certain products including automobiles, China shifted its export routes to other regions, particularly Europe and Latin America.

He stated that providing incentives for China to move away from exports and strengthen its chronically weak domestic consumption depends on the response of other nations, noting, "The rest of the world (excluding the U.S.) will have to review its trade terms with China."

The United States is competing with China across trade and the broader economy, a dynamic widely viewed as a battle for hegemony over the global order.

Bessent's remarks on this day are seen as an attempt to shift the trade war with China from a bilateral showdown into a multilateral pressure campaign targeting Beijing.

Operating under the view that a bilateral framework cannot block China's dumping of goods, the strategy is to press the G20 to jointly raise trade barriers against China and alter trade conditions.

Due to this pressure on China, concerns are rising that tensions between the U.S. and China could escalate at the upcoming G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Asheville, U.S.

On top of that, Bessent is also scheduled to pressure G20 member countries to join in economic sanctions against Iran.

China is a major trading partner that purchases 80 percent of Iranian crude oil, making it the biggest stumbling block to the economic throttling strategy deployed by the U.S. to force a warring Iran to submit.

When asked about Bessent's remarks during a briefing on the 31st, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated Beijing's established position: "The essence of China-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win results. China has never intentionally pursued a trade surplus and has opposed unilateral tariff measures in all their forms."

Guo added, "We remain committed to high-level opening up to the outside world, and China's mega-market provides new opportunities for all countries, including the United States. China and the U.S. should earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, resolve issues through negotiations on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, and safeguard the hard-won positive momentum in the economic and trade fields."

Meanwhile, in his interview with Reuters, Bessent assessed recent movements in the Japanese yen as "very well controlled."

He explained that while there had been another dip in the value of the yen, it was not the kind of disorderly volatility that triggered joint market intervention by the U.S. and Japan in July.

The yen fell below 160 per dollar on the 28th, fueling speculation over whether authorities might intervene once again.

When asked whether the Bank of Japan needs to continuously hike benchmark interest rates to stave off a weak yen, Bessent said Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will make the "right decision" on monetary policy with the backing of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Regarding whether the BOJ needs to raise rates further, he remarked, "I'm not going to tell Japan what to do," while adding, "I will say that I seriously think Abenomics, which was a reflation program, has probably reached the end of the line."

Abenomics, launched during the era of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was an economic policy aimed at rescuing Japan from long-term deflation by combining aggressive monetary easing, bold fiscal spending, and the expansion of growth potential.

Bessent stated that he plans to hold a separate meeting with Governor Ueda during the conference.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.