By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-09-03 07:15:06 | Updated at 2026-09-03 07:57:17
46 minutes ago
China has fired back at critics of its trade imbalances at a Group of 20 gathering, with the central bank firmly denying that Beijing deliberately pursues trade surpluses, while also vowing that it would not weaponise the yuan to boost exports.
In the face of concerns over export reliance, People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng said the country remained committed to expanding domestic demand, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday.
“Addressing global imbalances requires all countries to promote their own structural reforms,” Pan was quoted as saying during the two-day G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors, which ended on Tuesday.
Pan’s remarks came amid renewed scrutiny over China’s trade surplus, which
hit a record US$1.2 trillion last year. Speaking publicly after the G20 meeting, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called China’s current account surplus “unsustainable” and cited opposition from Beijing as the reason the group failed to issue a unanimous statement.
The US Treasury instead issued a statement, late on Tuesday, that was “agreed by all G20 members present except China”. It pointed to four specific paragraphs that China had objected to, including one on taking steps to “eliminate non-market policies and practices that exacerbate imbalances”.
“In particular, countries with excessive and persistent external surpluses should remove distortions that constrain domestic consumption and that result in an overreliance on exports for growth,” that paragraph added.
Pan added that deficit countries should cut fiscal deficits and raise saving rates, while surplus countries should promote consumption and investment growth.
