China Blocks G20 Communique Over Trade Dispute and Strait of Hormuz

China blocked a joint communique at a meeting of G20 finance chiefs in Asheville, North Carolina, due to disagreements over trade imbalances and the free flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that China, with its large trade surplus, was the dissenter, preventing consensus on issues including a task force to study trade imbalances and IMF powers to monitor them.