Although the agenda for the Group of Seven major economic nations’ closed financial talks on Friday was packed with talk of concerns over the banking crisis, cybersecurity and building more reliable supply chains, tensions with China and with Russia because of its war over Ukraine occupy a wide range of issues dealt with by the Group of Seven. This year in Japan, its only Asian member.
As G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs debated ways to protect the rules-based international order and prevent what they call China’s “economic coercion”, Beijing reacted by accusing the club of countries rich in hypocrisy.
“Frankly, the international rules that the G7 talks about are the rules of western ideologies and values, and it’s the rule of the little clique that puts the United States first, that is dominated by the (G7),” he said. said the Chinese Foreign Ministry. spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday.
“The G7 demands that China abide by international rules, but they represent those who violate and violate international rules,” Wang said at a routine press briefing.
China accuses Washington of blocking its rise as a modern, wealthy country by imposing restrictions on trade and investment that the United States says are necessary to protect US economic security.
Speaking ahead of the start of the talks, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the measures were “tightly targeted” and focused on national security.
“It does not focus on weakening China’s economic competitiveness or preventing economic progress,” Yellen added.
Asked what the G7 countries mean by trying to prevent “economic coercion”, particularly from China, Yellen cited Beijing’s trade measures against Australia as an example.
“There have been examples of China using economic coercion on countries taking actions that China is not happy with from a geopolitical perspective. We at the G7 have a common interest in this type of coercion. activity and we look forward to seeing what we can do to try to counter this kind of behavior,” she said.
China’s relations with the European Union, also a member of the Group of Seven, have also been strained by the trade dispute and Beijing’s tacit support for Russia.
Leaders at the talks in Niigata said they would consider ways to prevent countries from circumventing sanctions against Moscow aimed at hampering its ability to continue the war.
The United States and the European Union stress that they do not advocate “decoupling” or the dismantling of general economic relations with China, but that they support “risk-free” relations to avoid becoming too dependent on the China.
For its G7 presidency, Japan has prioritized launching a partnership with low- and middle-income countries to build “strong supply chains” to help reduce carbon emissions. One of the main areas of concern for G7 countries is the concentration of rare earth suppliers in China. This earth material is essential in many high-tech products.
The bank is collapsing
Meanwhile, recent bank failures in the United States and Europe have further complicated steering the global economy towards a sustainable post-pandemic recovery while curbing inflation, which surged to its highest point last year. high level for decades. spread instantly via social networking sites, and that online banking – which allows withdrawals of funds outside office hours – can lead to unusual deposit withdrawals. »
The collapse of America’s Silicon Valley Bank and other lenders stemmed in large part from pressure to raise interest rates aimed at slowing business activity and tamping inflation by making borrowing more expensive.
The meetings in Niigata are a good opportunity to “compare notes and see how we can make the world a bit more stable and achieve the price stability we so desire in a short time”, said the ECB President , Christine Lagarde, in comments recorded on video. on line.
The cabinet meeting comes as a major question arises over whether President Joe Biden and Congress will reach an agreement on raising the national debt ceiling before the US government runs out of money to pay its bills. . Yellen said a default on the national debt would be catastrophic and “unimaginable”.
A meeting between Biden and lawmakers on the issue has been postponed until May 18 to allow talks to continue through the weekend. Biden administration officials described the delay as a positive step, not a sign of a breakdown in talks.
The talks in this port city on the Sea of ​​Japan are the latest in a series of ministerial meetings to prepare for next week’s G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima.
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