G20 Finance Chiefs Back Safe Hormuz Navigation, Except China

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, said free, safe and predictable navigation through the Strait of Hormuz was essential to durable global growth. The U.S.-issued chair's statement linked continued disruption to energy trade with risks to energy, food, fertilizer and critical-mineral supply chains. Every G20 member present except China agreed to the statement; a footnote said Beijing objected to the Hormuz paragraph and three other sections. Because China dissented, the document was issued as the U.S. chair's statement rather than a unanimous joint communiqué.