A common stance towards China’s growing power and tightened thumb screws and sanctions against Russia.
That is what is on the agenda when world leaders gather today for the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the meeting, according to sources for the Washington Post.
China should know that the major powers within the G7 stand united regarding the support for Taiwan and the sanctions against Russia, which Chinese companies have been repeatedly accused of circumventing. At the same time, the G7 countries’ economic relationship with China should be characterized by less risk-taking – without cutting ties. This is the expected tone of voice during the three-day meeting, which begins on Friday.
– This G7 is not an anti-Chinese G7, French President Emmanuel Macron said this week according to the AFP news agency.
Nuclear tensions
The G7 superpower club consists of France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, the United States and the EU. Recently, the EU has angered Beijing by proposing export restrictions on “sensitive technology” for eight Chinese companies it suspects are doing business with Moscow.
Similar proposals are expected to be discussed during the meeting in Japan. The hope is to close the loopholes that enable the sanctions against Russia to be circumvented.
The meeting is being held at a critical time, with nuclear tensions in the world at their highest level since the end of the Cold War due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The fact that the leaders – including US President Joe Biden – gather in Hiroshima is therefore considered particularly symbolic, reports American NPR.
Zelenskyy participates via link
This year marks 78 years since the United States, on the orders of President Harry Truman, dropped an atomic bomb on the city, leading to the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II. Over 100,000 people were killed by the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
An unusual number of countries that are not part of the G7 are, according to AFP, invited to this weekend’s meeting, including India and Brazil. According to information to the Washington Post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi will also physically attend the meeting.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida previously said Zelenskyi would participate digitally, but now the president appears to be attending the meeting.
It is not yet confirmed which day Zelenskyy will attend.
(TT)
The G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, will be held on May 19-21.
The G7 group was formed in 1975 and stands for Group of Seven. It is an informal forum for the countries commonly referred to as the world’s richest: France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Germany and the United States.
The EU also participates with representatives.
China, whose economic and political power took off long after the G7 was formed, is not included – despite its importance today.
Between 1997 and 2014, the club was called the G8. Then Russia was also included, whose trust was then considered spent with the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
This weekend’s summit follows a G7 meeting in Japan’s Niigata on May 11-13, when finance ministers and central bank governors from the superpower club agreed on continued inflation control, increased support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions against Russia.