G20 pledges to boost cooperation as it seals communique

The Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs committed themselves to international policy cooperation in a communique adopted on Friday, finding rare consensus amid escalating tensions over the US trade war.

“The global economy is facing heightened uncertainty and complex challenges, including ongoing wars and conflicts, geopolitical and trade tension,” the communique says, according to people familiar with the deliberations, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“We emphasise the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to address existing and emerging risks to the global economy,” the communique said, according to the sources.

The agreement, forged during the G20 summit in South Africa’s eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, comes despite simmering tensions over US President Donald Trump’s trade war, which is set to intensify when higher tariffs take effect on August 1.

These have strained the G20’s multilateral foundations and complicated South Africa’s efforts — as this year’s rotating president — to keep the group’s agenda on course.

By imposing trade levies, scorning South Africa’s G20 motto of “solidarity, equality and sustainability” and pulling billions of dollars in funding for climate finance and international aid, the US is testing a world order that has dominated since the end of World War II.

That makes achieving a communique all the more impressive, said German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil prior to its adoption.

“This is a major achievement for the G20 presidency, which has conducted these negotiations with prudence and skill,” he told reporters at the gathering, at a lush resort on the Indian Ocean near the port city of Durban. Issuing a communique will send “a strong signal in favour of multilateralism,” he said.

© 2025 Bloomberg

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