G7 summit opens in Hiroshima, what's on the table?

The annual summit of the Group of 7 largest economies in the world officially opened on May 19 in Hiroshima, Japan, and will last until May 5.

It is no coincidence that Hiroshima was chosen as the venue for this conference. The city known the world over for being the first to be hit with a nuclear weapon is also the home town of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The bombing of 1945 helped end World War II, but devastated Hiroshima and the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing thousands of civilians, and the pain for survivors is still remembered today.

Mr. Kishida's choice of location reflects the Japanese leader's determination in the matter of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. This issue also promises to be at the top of the agenda of the G7 Summit, alongside hot issues such as support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions against Russia, as well as competition between the two superpowers the US and China.

Implications from Hiroshima

Back in 2016, when Mr. Kishida, then Japan's foreign minister, brought his G7 counterparts to the A-Bomb Dome memorial in Hiroshima, he believed that "this would be the first step towards the abolition of nuclear weapons".

Seven years later, when Mr. Kishida returned to his hometown to chair the G7 Summit as Prime Minister of Japan, he and other senior leaders once again visited the A-Bomb Dome memorial. Now, however, his dream of a world without nuclear weapons seems more distant than ever.

Since the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict broke out early last year, threats of the use of nuclear weapons have become more frequent, while the nuclear arsenals of some countries have also grown, leaving Washington's allies, including Japan, in greater demand for the US nuclear umbrella.

"I really feel that the road towards a world without nuclear weapons is becoming even more difficult than before," Kishida admitted in an interview last month. But he added that it is Japan's responsibility - as the only country to have ever suffered atomic bombings - to "continue to raise the banner of our ideals" to achieve the goal of nuclear abolition.

Hiroshima, where on August 6, 8, at least 1945 people were killed when the United States became the first and so far only country to launch a nuclear attack.

As a native of Hiroshima, Mr. Kishida still considers disarmament central to his political career. This theme is therefore expected to be prominent when the leaders of the world's most advanced economies gather in the city of Hiroshima, southwestern Japan.

The G7 countries - in which the US, France and Britain have nuclear weapons - were criticized after a meeting of foreign ministers last month for failing to come up with new steps to eliminate nuclear weapons. Whether this Summit can come up with more concrete ideas will be closely watched, including by those in the host city of Hiroshima.

“We hope that the G7 will be able to chart a solid path towards the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and without relying on deterrence,” said Kazumi Matsui, mayor of Hiroshima.

US-China competition

But this year's summit comes as G7 members are divided on a host of other important issues, including US-China competition, economic coercion, climate strategy, dealing with the Southern Hemisphere, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI).

The G7 – consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – was set up to discuss policies to deal with the economic crisis of the 1970s. Today the leaders of these countries are gathered at a crucial time, as global growth slows amid rising inflation.

Last week, G7 central bank and financial leaders wrapped up a three-day meeting in Niigata, pledging to combat rising costs and ensure expectations for future price movements remain "well-stabilized".

“When it comes to what is happening in world politics… we are increasingly worried about the US-China relationship that could lead to conflict,” Mireya Solis, director of the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asian Policy Studies, said in a recent podcast.

“These are superpowers on the nuclear issue – and so I think Hiroshima encapsulates a very poignant reminder of the need to address these issues and avoid a similar outcome,” Solis said.

The US-China geopolitical tensions are also causing concerns about the global supply chain. US President Joe Biden is also expected to announce an executive order to restrict investment by US companies in China.

Also at a meeting of G7 financial and central bank leaders last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters that the US was considering measures to combat "economic coercion" measures allegedly used by China against other countries.

Mr. Biden confirmed that he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in the near future, but did not give a specific timeline on when the meeting would take place.

"Sooner or later, we will meet," Biden said when asked about his plans to meet Xi.

Ideally, a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders would be ideal, and US officials are actively assessing whether a meeting could take place before the end of the year, a White House official said.

Russian-Ukrainian conflict

Certainly the topic of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and how to increase the pressure on the Russian economy will be a big part of the agenda of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will personally travel to Japan to attend the conference on May 21, according to the Financial Times and sources familiar with the matter. The leader of the Eastern European country is coming to bolster support from a group of wealthy democracies for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Ahead of the G7 Summit, the British government on May 18 announced a new round of sanctions, including a ban on Russian diamonds, that are expected to affect Moscow's $5 billion export sector in 4. In addition, the government of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also announced a ban on the import of copper, aluminum and nickel of Russian origin.

In addition to the above trade restrictions, the UK is planning to additionally target 86 members of Russia's military-industrial complex, as well as individuals involved in key Russian sectors including energy, metals and shipping.

The UK is continuing to work with G7 allies to target all forms of sanctions evasion, including those that deliberately support the Kremlin in its efforts to cushion the impact of current sanctions.

Like London, Washington is also preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia, multiple media outlets quoted a senior US government official as saying.

The measures are intended to "restrict Russia's access to goods vital to its battlefield capabilities," the US official said on May 19 before the G5 summit opened in Japan.

The United States plans to further expand export controls "to make it more difficult for Russia to maintain its war machine," preventing about 70 entities from Russia and third countries from accessing American exports, the official said, adding that 300 sanctions on individuals, organizations, ships and aircraft would also be announced.

Climate and AI

For developing countries, including many former colonies of Western powers with different views and relationships with Russia and China, the G7 will provide more support on health, food security and infrastructure to help forge closer ties.

Developed countries promised in 2009 to transfer $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2025 to countries vulnerable to increasingly severe climate-related impacts and disasters – but that goal has never been achieved.

According to the British NGO Oxfam, the rich nations of the G7 owe poor countries about $13.000 trillion in unpaid development aid and assistance in the fight against climate change.

Also, there's one problem that wasn't on the agenda at first: The dizzying growth of ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. This means that G7 leaders can no longer ignore the problems it poses.

In April, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida met with the CEO of OpenAI, the company that developed the ChatGPT chatbot. Meanwhile, EU lawmakers have also urged G4 leaders to find ways to control the development of this AI product.

The G7 Digital Ministers in April agreed that they should adopt "risk-based" regulation of AI..

Minh Đức (According to Financial Times, Al Jazeera, CNBC)