On the second day of the G7 summit, taking place in Hiroshima, Japan, leaders are expected to confirm the importance of strengthening relations with emerging and developing countries, in the context of China seeking to increase military cooperation globally, according to Kyodo News agency.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the leaders of the G7 (UK, Canada, Germany, US, Japan, France and Italy) will also launch a new mechanism to deal with economic coercion. The leaders want to send a signal to Beijing that they are united in opposing what they see as hostile actions on the economic front.
G7 and European Union (EU) leaders at a working dinner on May 19.
In a statement, the British government accused China of using its economic power to bully countries such as Australia and Lithuania in political conflicts.
The new mechanism, called the G7 Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion, will help address the growing and more dangerous use of economic coercion to interfere in other countries' affairs.
This common mechanism would allow G7 members to coordinate responses to actions such as trade and investment restrictions, boycotts, and cyber attacks. However, this does not mean that it will automatically trigger a response every time there is coercion.
Sources also said countries were divided on the level of response, and while they wanted to diversify supply chains, many still had close economic ties with China.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Hiroshima summit on the morning of May 20, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that G7 leaders will come up with a common toolkit to counter economic coercion, including steps to build more resilient supply chains, export controls and foreign investment to protect sensitive technology. Each country will decide on its own approach, Reuters quoted the US adviser.
G7 summit expected to focus on Russia, China
Mr. Sullivan said G7 members wanted to reduce risks related to China, not to separate from the country. He revealed that the leaders' joint statement would emphasize that each country has its own independent relationship and approach, but the G7 is united and agrees on a common set of standards.
The official said the joint statement would not surprise China because its content covered G7 concerns that Beijing was well aware of.
Source link
Comment (0)