U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent urges G20 to increase pressure on China

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Bessent targets China

Highlights

Bessent wants G20 members to reassess China trade.
Washington is targeting global trade imbalances.
China has a roughly $1.2 trillion trade surplus.

Bessent plans to encourage G20 members to examine tougher trade measures while pressing China to rely more on domestic consumption and less on exports, Reuters reported. Washington is also seeking a G20 statement addressing trade and current-account imbalances, with China’s roughly $1.2 trillion trade surplus at the center of U.S. concerns.

Washington looks for a broader response

The initiative comes after U.S. tariffs sharply restricted direct imports of many Chinese products. Washington has imposed high duties and, in some sectors such as automobiles, effectively closed much of the American market to Chinese goods.

Those restrictions have also redirected Chinese exports toward Europe, Latin America, and other markets. Bessent wants those economies to reassess their own trade policies rather than allow excess Chinese production to shift from the United States to other destinations.

The U.S. trade deficit with China fell by about one-third in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, reaching $73.9 billion. Washington sees that decline as evidence that trade barriers can change bilateral flows, although broader global imbalances remain.

Bessent has also played down currency intervention as the main solution. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that the yuan may be undervalued by as much as 21%, but Washington is focusing more heavily on industrial subsidies and weak Chinese domestic demand.

Tariff pressure meets room for negotiation

The tougher message comes as Washington and Beijing prepare for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late September.

Despite the dispute over industrial policy, the two sides are considering narrower areas for tariff relief. Bessent estimates that roughly $30 billion of non-strategic goods on each side could potentially be exempted from tariffs. Officials are also discussing safeguards for advanced artificial intelligence.

U.S. tariff policy itself is being rebuilt after the Supreme Court invalidated broad duties imposed under emergency powers. The administration has since introduced a 12.5% tariff on Chinese imports through a separate trade investigation and is preparing additional measures focused on excess industrial capacity.

China policy moves beyond Washington

The significance of Bessent’s G20 initiative lies in whether other major economies follow the U.S. lead. Unilateral American restrictions can redirect Chinese exports, while coordinated barriers could exert much greater pressure on Beijing to stimulate consumption and reduce dependence on manufacturing exports.

With China running a trade surplus near $1.2 trillion and the U.S. bilateral deficit already down to $73.9 billion in the first half, the dispute is increasingly shifting from bilateral tariffs toward the structure of global trade itself.

Earlier, we reported that China targets U.S. firms after the Pentagon expands the blacklist.

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