Leaders from the G7 countries, including the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy, are expected to announce measures addressing China’s economic repression. The leaders issued a statement urging Beijing to respond to economic pressure and measures aimed at promoting economic security. The G7 plans to present common tools to address the concerns of their countries, including making supply chains more resilient and enacting investment measures and export controls protecting sensitive technology. The United States and its allies are increasingly concerned about China’s ability to secure foreign technology to support its military.
The measures aimed at China coincide with high-level meetings between the US and China to implement a deal. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan denied that the G7 statement on China would affect efforts to restart ties, saying that the language read “not hostile.” British officials plan to unveil a platform to provide a forum for identifying economic vulnerabilities and coordinating protective measures. The G7 plans to release its final communiqué on Saturday, a day ahead of schedule as leaders are expected to focus on issues related to Ukraine on Sunday.
European officials support maintaining concerted action rather than unilateral action by individual countries. China is accused of using debt trap diplomacy and “blatant use of power” to undermine political and economic stability, imposing sanctions and launching investigations into defence firms and other companies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to attend the summit in person since Russia invaded the country. China on Friday accused the US and its allies of “using their great power status” in response to US allegations of economic coercion.
In conclusion, the G7 leaders’ announcement highlighting China’s economic repression and the measures to be taken to address this problem will promote economic security and resilience of the G7 countries, whilst also addressing the concerns facing their countries. Despite China’s accusations that the US and its allies are using their great power status, the G7 continues to work towards addressing issues raised by Beijing, promoting cohesion between the two countries and maintaining concerted action by individual countries, to ensure stronger action against coercive diplomacy.