US’ Steven Mnuchin ‘available for talks’ but G20 summit brings no dialogue with China and no global consensus on ending trade war
Treasury Secretary shares only ‘chit-chat’ with China’s finance minister Liu Kun, as finance ministers warn tensions are jeopardising growth
Global finance leaders called for stepped-up dialogue to prevent trade and geopolitical tensions from hurting growth, but ended a two-day G20 meeting with little consensus on how to resolve multiple disputes over US tariff actions.
Meanwhile, on the sideline of the meeting, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a news conference on Sunday that he had had no substantive discussions on bilateral trade disputes with China’s finance minister, Liu Kun, at the G20 gathering, engaging mainly in “chit-chat”. Mnuchin had said before the summit that no such meetings were planned.
“Any time they want to sit down and negotiate meaningful changes, I and our team are available,” Mnuchin said on Sunday.
The Chinese delegation did not speak to media at the G20 meeting.
The finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 largest economies warned that growth, while still strong, was becoming less synchronised and downside risks over the short and medium-term had increased.