Foreign ministers from the G7 countries on Nov. 8 vowed to crack down on China’s “malign” practices, including the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) illegitimate technology transfers that “distort the global economy,” but they stressed the need to work together with Beijing to tackle an array of global challenges.
Top diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union, and the United States—the Group of Seven—made the pledge during a G7 meeting in Tokyo, Japan, which has assumed the G7 presidency this year.
G7 members said they are “prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China” and recognize the “importance of engaging candidly and expressing our concerns directly” to Beijing.
They further noted the need to work together with China on various global challenges as well as “areas of common interest” and urged China to engage with them on such matters.
Officials also stressed they are not “decoupling” from China but are instead “de-risking.”
“Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development. We are not decoupling or turning inwards,” they said in a joint statement.
“At the same time, we recognize that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying. With a view to enabling sustainable economic relations with China, and strengthening the international trading system, we will continue to push for a level playing field for our workers and companies,” they continued.
‘Non-Market Policies, Practices’ Impacting Global Economy
G7 members vowed to address the challenges posed by what they said are China’s “non-market policies and practices,” which “distort the global economy.”
“We will counter malign practices, such as illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure. We will foster resilience to economic coercion,” the group continued. “We also recognize the necessity of protecting certain advanced technologies that could be used to threaten our national security without unduly limiting trade and investment,” the G7 countries said in the joint statement. “We call on China to act as a responsible member of the international community.”
The statement comes as China has increasingly come under fire over its 2017 National Intelligence Law that requires companies to support the CCP’s intelligence work, meaning that they’re unable to withhold data collected from Chinese authorities, should they request it.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have been further strained following an October report by the Pentagon which found that the CCP now has more than 500 nuclear warheads and will likely have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.
Earlier this year, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) also told fellow lawmakers that the CCP now fields more long-range, nuclear-capable missile launchers than the United States.
Elsewhere in its joint statement Wednesday, the G7 members went on to welcome China’s “participation” in the Ukraine-led peace process, but called on Beijing to stop assisting Russia in its war against neighboring Ukraine and instead press Moscow to stop its military aggression.
G7 ‘Strongly Opposes’ Attempts to Change ‘Status Quo’
China has been reluctant to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has continued since February 2022, and last year declared a “no-limits partnership” with Moscow while signing gas and oil contracts worth an estimated $117.5 billion, effectively alleviating some of the financial woes facing the sanction-crippled nation.
Still, Beijing has attempted to present itself as neutral amid the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict while prompting a 12-point alleged “peace plan” that includes a ceasefire, and a resumption of peace talks.
Elsewhere in Wednesday’s statement, G7 nations stressed that the CCP has a responsibility to uphold the international laws and principles of the U.N. Charter “in their entirety,” and expressed concerns over the situation in the East and South China seas, while reaffirming their support for Taiwan and the self-ruling island nation’s peace and stability amid China’s increasingly aggressive behavior.
Officials said Wednesday that they are strongly opposed to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” anywhere in the world, adding that such attempts “undermine the rule of law, which protects all nations, especially the vulnerable, as well as global security and human dignity.”
“We remain deeply concerned about foreign interference, information manipulation, and other hostile actions designed to undermine our democracies,” the group concluded, before urging China to refrain from conducting interference activities aimed at “undermining the security and safety of our communities, the integrity of our democratic institutions, and our economic prosperity.”
Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
