Top economic policymakers from the Group of 20 nations began two days of meetings on Monday in Asheville, N. C., at an incredibly challenging moment. Global inflation is high, growth is choked by war in the Middle East, and rising borrowing costs are straining government budgets.

Controversies clouded the eve of the summit, including whether the Trump administration would let Russia attend while excluding South Africa's delegation. Representatives from South Africa, a longtime member of the G20 and Africa's largest economy, were not invited by the Treasury Department to Asheville. President Trump announced last year that he would exclude the country from this year's meetings, citing a false narrative that white South Africans were being indiscriminately killed.

Administration officials also invited American business executives from banking and cryptocurrency industries for networking opportunities, rebuffing requests to include executives from other G20 countries. The summit comes at a pivotal moment, with the International Monetary Fund projecting that global growth will slow this year and inflation will rise. The decision by the United States to attack Iran in February disrupted oil flow and pushed energy prices higher.

Officials are expected to discuss ways to reinforce global supply chains for commodities such as critical minerals, opportunities to increase international investment, and strategies for reducing or restructuring debt. The U.S. gross national debt just topped $40 trillion, creating anxiety among bondholders and raising fears about higher borrowing costs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initiated surprising interventions in global currency markets and the U.S. bond market to contain rising borrowing costs, drawing pushback from the European Union.