China's trade surplus reaches one billion dollars – criticism comes from the USA
Ahead of the planned summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, the US Treasury Secretary is putting global imbalances on the agenda. Europe, too, is watching the negotiations closely.
At the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, US Finance Secretary Scott Bessent addressed China's global trade surplus.
In his opening speech, he spoke of „persistent global imbalances that undermine prosperity“.
The remarks came a few weeks before a planned bilateral summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington.
The USA and the G20 presidency 2026
The United States will assume the presidency of the G20 in 2026 in rotation, that association of the 19 most important industrial and emerging countries as well as the EU and the African Union.
As host, Washington also sets thematic priorities for the agenda of the finance ministers. By addressing trade imbalances, Bessent is continuing an economic policy line that has been pursued on a bipartisan basis in the USA for several years.
China's position in global trade
According to Chinese customs authorities, China exported goods worth approximately 3.58 trillion US dollars in 2025, with imports of about 2.59 trillion US dollars.
The resulting trade surplus of nearly one trillion US dollars is considered one of the largest single-country foreign trade surpluses in the world.
Beijing attributes this development, among other things, to the competitiveness of its industry in areas such as electric vehicles, solar technology, and battery cells.
The upcoming Xi-Trump summit
The planned summit between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in Washington is considered one of the central economic policy events of the year. Observers expect that in addition to trade issues, topics such as tariff policy, technology exports, and investment conditions will also be on the agenda. In the past, bilateral talks between the two states had impacts on global supply chains and stock market prices.
For Austria and the EU, the talks are relevant because European exporters, including domestic suppliers in the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, are embedded in supply chains that affect both the Chinese and US markets.
The European Union recorded a trade deficit of around 300 billion euros vis-à-vis China in 2025, while it showed a surplus of approximately 150 billion euros vis-à-vis the United States.
Should there be new tariff or trade agreements between Washington and Beijing, this could also change the framework conditions for European companies, for example in export quotas or location decisions of international corporations with plants in Austria.
Source: China – South China Morning Post | Original Article