The G7 summit ended on Sunday (13) in the United Kingdom. In a joint communiqué, the seven member states called on the Chinese government to uphold human rights in Xinjiang and freedom in Hong Kong, to allow an independent investigation into the origin of the New Guinea virus, and to express “deep concern” about the situation in the South and East China Seas. Beijing did not respond in a high-profile manner, and only a strong statement was issued by the Chinese Embassy in Britain.
A joint communiqué issued at the end of the three-day Group of Seven (G7) summit on Sunday stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, in addition to the forced labor in Xinjiang in recent years and the freedom of Hong Kong and other Chinese issues. The communiqué stressed that the G7 will continue to adhere to the values it has always held and called on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in Xinjiang as well as Hong Kong. The communiqué also called on China to allow the WHO to conduct a second phase of a “transparent, expert-led, science-based investigation into the origin of the new coronavirus in its territory as soon as possible.”
There was no strong response from the Chinese official media to the rare unanimous G-7 position against China. Only the Chinese Embassy in the UK issued a strong statement criticizing the G7 communiqué on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan for “making statements that distort facts and reverse right and wrong, deliberately slandering China and interfering in China’s internal affairs, further exposing the sinister intentions of a few countries such as the United States, which we strongly resent and firmly oppose. “
At home, Chinese official media did not report the content of the G-7 summit communiqué, instead saying that the summit was “united” under the appearance of the G-7 “face and heart”. The Xinhua News Agency reported that many of the “outcomes” of the meeting were questioned and criticized by many parties, and that the “small circle” of the G-7, a product of the old days, was outdated.
Scholars: China isolated as US returns to world political stage
The G-7 summit communiqué can be called an important turning point after the end of the Cold War, representing the return of the United States to the center of the world political stage, said Wu Qiang, a Chinese political commentator concerned about the international situation, in an interview with Radio Free Asia on Monday (14).
Wu Qiang said: It can be said to be a very successful turning point, which is the first; second, it also represents the targeting of China as a competitor, or even a hypothetical enemy. This targeting is not a direct view of China as Russia, an imminent adversary. Rather, it (links) issues related to China with issues related to Europe, the United States and recent regional disputes, such as forced labor, supply chains, and climate change.
Wu Qiang argues that these issues are all linked to China and at the same time to the neoliberal globalization order, of which China is a beneficiary, and which therefore needs to be revised by Western industrial countries.
Wu Qiang says: amplifies many risks of neoliberal globalization, especially for widening the gap between developed and developing countries, and widening the gap between rich and poor within developed countries. It amplifies the risks associated with carbon emissions, disease, and China’s use of the gap between rich and poor to build global infrastructure through the Belt and Road to gain global leadership.
The West’s Tough Response to Prevent China from Taking Desperate Measures
During the consultations and discussions at the G7 summit, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy differed in their views on the extent of their confrontation with China, with Germany, for example, taking a “competitive and cooperative” approach to China. However, in the joint communiqué, Germany agreed to use strong language. The communiqué mentions that the member states are deeply concerned about the situation in the South and East China Seas.
Australia (Australia) University of Sydney China Studies Professor Feng Chongyi told the station that it depends on the internal coordination of the summit.
Feng Chongyi said: the attitude of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, but now the results should be after internal coordination, on some key issues, such as a thorough investigation of the source of the new crown virus, and the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the right to free navigation, a consensus. There is also a statement on issues such as human rights and democracy in Hong Kong.
This is the first time in decades that a Western bloc summit has come together to make such clear criticism of a country’s goals. Feng Chongyi believes that this change is obvious.
They have some important consensus on the threat that the Chinese Communist regime poses to the international order,” Feng said. If the United States, Japan and the European Union do not have very tough measures to contain (China), Xi Jinping’s regime is likely to take desperate measures. This lesson, especially on the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, such as the previous policy of appeasement, is that if you shake the olive branch and put peace first, it amounts to encouraging her (Beijing) to take risky actions.
In order to bring other developing countries together, the seven leaders agreed to launch an infrastructure development program proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, which is mainly used to assist middle and low-income countries, including a mooted $100 billion a year in climate protection funds for developing countries to counter China’s “One Belt, One Road”.
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