Beijing has taken the rare step of publicly rebuking the Business 20, an advisory group that represents the views of private businesses at the G20, over the business lobby’s plan to criticize China’s support for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the South China Morning Post reports.
Business 20 plans to submit a communiqué to the next G20 summit in Buenos Aires in late November calling for China to end the state-related competitive distortions in its market, but the wording of the statement has drawn the ire of a Chinese government-affiliated trade advocacy group, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The Chinese body has demanded that the communiqué is not submitted to the G20 leaders and that key sections related to SOEs are reworded.
The fact that the dispute is playing out so publicly highlights the deep divisions between China and other members of the G20, particularly the United States and European members. According to the SCMP, it may even raise questions over the future of the G20 itself.