China says 'divergent opinions' contributed to lack of G20 consensus

China said on Sunday that "divergent opinions" fuelled by US tariffs contributed to the lack of agreement on overcapacity and forced labour at the G20.

The United States holds the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 major economies this year, which also includes China, India, France, Germany and Japan.

Trade ministers held two days of talks this week in Milwaukee, but failed to reach agreements on countering overcapacity and forced labor, criticisms commonly aimed at China.

A draft ministerial statement against excess capacity, seen as driving costs down unfairly, "was supported by all but a handful of members", top US trade official Jamieson Greer said after the talks.

The draft called on all countries to move to eliminate structural excess capacity in their economies, among other actions.

"Issues such as overcapacity and forced labor have been highly controversial since their inception," China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Sunday.

It said G20 members are subject to tariffs related to forced labour and are "frequently targets" of investigations concerning overcapacity.

"Against this backdrop, many members expressed differing views from various viewpoints regarding the presidency's decision to table these issues and push for the issuance of a joint statement and the establishment of cooperation mechanisms," it said.

"... due to divergent opinions among the majority of members, the meeting failed to produce an outcome document on these topics," it said.

"China has noted that the post-meeting Chair's Statement mentioned that the US side, together with two other G20 nations, issued a statement outside the G20 framework on the issue of forced labor," it added.

The statement did not specify which countries opposed it.

A G20 leaders' summit will be held at a golf resort in Miami owned by US President Donald Trump in mid-December.