Leading the Group of Seven discussions of China on Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on the leaders to come up with a consolidated approach to tackle the challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China. However, the G7 countries that have been looking for a strategic and coherent response to deal with President Xi Jinping’s growing dominance especially after China’s economic and military rise, have been now warned by the country.
Hitting back at the world’s richest democracies that are desperately looking for a blueprint to take on Beijing, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London said, “The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone.”
“We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are equals, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries,” he added.
Currently, the leaders of the G7 – The United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Japan – are using their gathering in the English seaside resort of Carbis Bay as an opportunity to showcase to the world that the richest democracies can offer an alternative to China’s growing dominance.
Meanwhile, Beijing has time and again hit back against what it perceives as attempts by Western powers to curtail China. Calling it a humiliation, Beijing says many major powers are still gripped by an outdated imperial mindset.
G7 backs global infrastructure project
On the second day of the summit, the G7 leaders backed a vast global infrastructure project plan for the developing and emerging countries as a counter to the Chinese “Belt and Road” project.
‘Build Back Better World’- an initiative put forward by the Joe Biden administration, the White House said the project would mobilize private sector capital in a “transparent infrastructure partnership” to meet the shortfall in the developing world that had been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(B3W) will be global in scope, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa to the Indo-Pacific,” the White House statement said.
“The aim is to help countries recover from the pandemic, focusing on the climate, health, digital technology and the fight against inequality,” it added.
PM Modi addresses G7 summit
Addressing the G7 summit virtually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called for adopting a “one earth, one health” approach to effectively deal with the coronavirus pandemic globally.
“The prime minister committed India’s support for collective endeavours to improve global health governance. He sought the G7’s support for the proposal moved at the WTO by India and South Africa, for a TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver on COVID related technologies,” an official statement said.
As chair of the G7, the UK invited India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa to the 2021 summit as guest countries.
