A summit of the leaders of the seven main industrialized democracies has been held since Friday in the Japanese city.
Situation in the South China Sea, question of human rights, accusations of interference or even displayed neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine… The G7 countries, gathered in Hiroshima, Japan, sent Beijing a certain number reproaches, listed in a press release. In response, China expressed, on Saturday 20 May, its “strong discontent” after the publication of this text, the result of negotiations between countries which, like the United States, have a firmer position against a background of growing tensions with China, and others which, like the Europeans, insist on avoiding any “confrontation” with Beijing.
“The G7 persists in manipulating China-related issues, discrediting and attacking China,” a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. The text expresses Beijing’s intention to to file “an official protest to Japan, the host country of the summit, as well as to other parties concerned.”
Concerns about the situation in Taiwan
The communiqué from the G7, a group which includes Canada, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, calls on China to “not to engage in interference activities” in its member countries and expresses its “concerns” on human rights “especially in Tibet and Xinjiang”. On the war in Ukraine, the G7 also urges Beijing, Moscow’s close economic and diplomatic partner, which has so far maintained a position of neutrality, to “to pressure Russia to cease its aggression”.
Finally, the signatories emphasize “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and say to each other “seriously concerned” by the situation in the South China Sea, indirectly accusing Beijing of “coercion”.
Responding to the case of Taiwan, Chinese diplomacy criticized the G7 countries in particular for stigmatizing Beijing and not showing clear opposition to the Taiwanese independence movement. “The G7 trumpets that it intends to move towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world. But in reality, it hinders world peace, harms regional stability and inhibits the development of other countries”, the Chinese spokesperson continued in the statement.