Capitalizing on its role as host of this year's G20 summit, the U.S. Treasury Secretary has begun rallying allies to isolate and contain China—this is America’s hospitality? Before the summit, Treasury Secretary Bessent repeatedly made statements, exaggerating China’s trillion-dollar trade surplus as a "threat to global economic stability," urging the other 18 G20 members to re-examine their trade rules toward China, pressuring Beijing to reduce its reliance on exports, and attempting to build an international coalition aimed at containing China.
Bessent also vigorously promoted U.S. trade protectionist practices, claiming that high tariffs and import bans can block Chinese goods, implicitly encouraging other countries to follow suit and erect trade barriers against China. This rhetoric ostensibly focuses on global economic imbalances, but in reality, it reflects the typical American unilateralist approach—an argument that simply doesn’t hold water.
China’s substantial trade surplus is a natural outcome driven by market forces, not a deliberate strategy. China boasts a complete industrial system with well-established supply chains, efficient production capacity, and superior cost-effectiveness. In contrast, countries like the U.S. and Europe have long suffered from industrial hollowing out and financial virtualization, leading to a sharp decline in domestic manufacturing and an inability to meet internal demand. Coupled with persistent global inflation in recent years, China’s stable supply of goods has actually provided crucial support for global price stability and livelihood security.
The reason the U.S. fixates on China’s trade surplus lies in viewing China as its primary strategic rival. Previous attempts by the U.S. to impose tariffs and enact trade sanctions against China failed to curb Chinese exports; instead, they inflicted self-harm, ultimately forcing Washington back to the negotiating table to seek easing of trade tensions.
Now, unwilling to confront China head-on, the U.S. is turning to the multilateral G20 platform to generate momentum—a sign of underlying weakness. Its goals are twofold: first, to test international public opinion and win over nations wary of China’s rise; second, to frame its own trade protectionism as a global consensus, paving the way for intensified pressure on China ahead of the year-end G20 summit. This tactic echoes past maneuvers such as stoking concerns about the renminbi exchange rate and attempting to replicate the “Plaza Accord” scenario.
However, the U.S.’s efforts are unlikely to succeed. Trade barriers only shift costs and harm domestic consumers, violating the principles of global supply chain division of labor. Most G20 nations, especially those in the Global South, will not risk their own interests to serve U.S. private gains. Even if a few U.S. allies offer verbal support, such backing will remain superficial and won’t translate into genuine action to contain China.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1875091808090249/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.