China’s state-run Global Times The paper predicted on Friday that the G7 coalition, made up mainly of the United States and European countries, will soon lose its relevance as “internal divisions” threaten its unity, and described coverage of this year’s summit as having a “funeral atmosphere.”
The G7 summit currently underway in Italy, unsurprisingly for a European-led organisation, has so far been focused primarily on responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The White House has reiterated that President Joe Biden is also expected to discuss the continuing threat that Communist China poses to the free world, both geopolitically and economically, through its support for Russia.
The G7 summit follows a smaller meeting this week of foreign ministers representing China’s answer to the G7, the BRICS alliance, a group of mostly rogue nations that have banded together to weaken the power of the U.S. dollar and challenge Western interests at the United Nations and other forums.
From right, U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Council President Charles Michel watch a skydiving demonstration during the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, Thursday, June 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
on the other hand, Global Times China did not mention the BRICS, but coverage of the G7 suggests that Chinese analysts see an opportunity for rivals to supplant the group, which includes most of the world’s major economies except China, in global importance.
“This year’s G7 summit has just begun, but it is the Western media that is the first to appear depressed, with some even creating a funeral atmosphere for the G7,” the state-run newspaper said. ClaimedCiting the examples of left-wing media in the US and the UK,
Politico writes, “This week’s meeting of G7 leaders in Italy is more like a Last Supper than a show of Western power.” CNN describes the meeting as G7 leaders gathering in Italy “to escape political crises at home,” and questions how much power the G7, which aides to US President Joe Biden call the “steering committee of the free world,” can actually exert in the face of anger and discontent among their own people. “Does the G7 have power?” The BBC asks this seemingly gentle question, but there is also a sense of powerlessness behind it.
The state-run newspaper reported the concerns appeared to stem from disagreements at the meeting on several issues, including objections to China’s efforts to flood foreign economies with cheap, slavery-tainted goods and destroy its own industries.
“Some European countries have very close commercial ties with China” and are eager to avoid a trade war. Global Times He made this claim without specifically citing a source.
“It is not surprising that various internal conflicts within the G7 have come to light through different channels even before the summit has even taken place,” the state media continued. “Generally, when the US proposes something, Europe pushes back with another proposal.”
of Global Times He predicted that “European disappointment and anger towards the United States” would make this year’s G7 summit unproductive and that the group would ultimately “close itself off” to the world.
Contrary to that assessment, Italy, the host country of the G7, Welcomed This year’s summit will bring together a range of world leaders, including the leaders of BRICS member states India, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pope Francis, Argentine President Javier Milley and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
The group reportedly spent much of Thursday addressing the situation in Ukraine before expanding its summit to non-G7 countries on Friday, with the group reportedly implementing a plan to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in loans secured by frozen Russian assets in the West.
Payday for Ukraine: G7, Italy summit to agree on $50 billion loan https://t.co/QXqt0AqxMv
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 13, 2024
While the agreement on Ukraine appears to have emerged from a general consensus among member states, other issues, e.g. Global Times As noted above, further discussion seems necessary. On the issue of countering China’s economic expansion in Europe, an anonymous senior Biden administration official said: Said At a press conference on Friday, he will likely play a key role in discussions towards a joint statement at the end of the summit.
“There will be an opportunity to discuss China. [China]”We are also concerned about the troubling support that China has provided to Russia in dual-use equipment and goods to bolster Russia’s defense industrial base,” the official said, “items such as optics, nitrocellulose and microelectronics that could be directly linked to the production of weapons that pose a long-term threat to the security of not only Ukraine but also Europe.”
“China’s subsidies for electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and so on are contributing to overcapacity in almost all Western markets and are a concern for all G7 countries,” the official added. “So that will be reflected in the statement, and any associated actions will be taken by each G7 country individually.”
Officials were not forthcoming about abortion, one of the summit’s most contentious issues. While the summit’s left-leaning leaders sought to include pro-abortion statements in the joint statement, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: Opposed Meloni did so, persuading other parties not to add language supporting “access to safe and legal abortion,” the issue that reportedly caused the most rift between Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Biden himself has been the subject of repeated headlines over footage that appears to show him engaging in erratic behavior. Times of IndiaFor example, on Thursday, Meloni posted a video that appeared to show Biden leading a group photo:Embarrassing. “
What is Biden doing? pic.twitter.com/iY33K2srII
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2024
The joint statement had not yet been released at the time of writing, as the core G7 members are currently meeting with invited world leaders.
