William Yang Profile picture
May 18 26 tweets 5 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
My latest from #G7Summit: As G7 leaders arrive in #Hiroshima to try to form a unity against #China, experts say
they are skeptical about the group's ability to come up with a coordinated response to China's expanding economic power and military might. dw.com/en/can-the-g7-…
The West's relationship with China amid Beijing's expanding economic and political clout, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the troubled state of the global economy are set to top the agenda of their discussions.
The G7 — which includes the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Canada — has been grappling with the question of how to deal with China amid Beijing's growing global economic influence and military might in recent years.
At the summit, the G7 leaders are expected to touch on concerns about what they see as Beijing's use of "economic coercion" around the world.
They say they are not "decoupling" their economies from China but rather "de-risking," to insulate them from potential blackmail, by diversifying supply chains and markets.
The US has called for G7 nations to take stronger positions on Beijing.
Washington has already blocked China's access to the most advanced semiconductors and the equipment to make them. It has also pressed Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit.
But European countries like Germany and France stress that the G7 is not an "anti-China alliance." They have also underlined that de-risking their economies does not mean cutting off ties with the world's second-biggest economy.
The G7 leaders will also discuss China's military activities in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, and their impact on stability in the region.
But it will be tough for them to agree on any specific measures to counter Beijing's growing power in the Indo-Pacific, said @RobertAlanWard.
"I suspect G7 countries won't want to go head-on towards China because they could only fight on so many fronts, and the Ukraine issue will be pretty major," he told DW.
@wentisung said the G7 joint statement will likely include language highlighting their concern for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and reiterating the importance of a rules-based global order.
"I don't expect a robust security dimension to be featured in the G7 joint statement," he noted. "But I do expect a continuation of values-based language expressing support for Taiwan and the stability of the Taiwan Strait …
… as a core element of the global commerce and maritime freedom of navigation."
China has always slammed statements by foreign governments on Taiwan as an interference in its domestic affairs.

Ward said Japan, however, is keen to present the island as an international issue that "everyone needs to be interested in."
"[Japan thinks] everyone needs to participate in the preservation of the stability [across the Taiwan Strait]," he added.
Japan has also invited leaders from several non-G7 economies, including Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Brazil and the African Union, to this year's gathering.
Some of these countries have so far resisted Western calls for sanctions on Russia, and don't want to be drawn into broader geopolitical conflicts.
One of the G7 goals in Hiroshima, said Ward, is to convince them to join forces with the democratic world in opposition to Russia and China.
But @sanahashmi1 said there's "no coordination" between the G7 and other democratic nations on China policy.
"They want to focus on threats from China, and the agenda between the sub-groups and the G7 are similar, yet there is no coordination," she pointed out.
Nevertheless, Ward said, the US push for allies to take on more responsibilities in preserving regional stability could prompt a collective response against China. "[The US] has recognized that it needs help from allies, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region."
This year's G7 summit is taking place in Hiroshima, one of the two Japanese cities bombed with nuclear weapons by the US in the last days of World War II.
The choice of venue underscores Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's determination to put nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation at the top of the agenda.
A path to nuclear disarmament has appeared more difficult amid Moscow's recent nuclear weapon threats in Ukraine, China's growing nuclear stockpile and North Korea's attempts to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities.
Tokyo has adopted a firm anti-nuclear stance. But Japan, which is protected by the US nuclear umbrella, has faced criticism that its nuclear disarmament pledge is an empty promise.
Ward, from IISS, said that Kishida will push for G7 to commit to creating conditions for further disarmament. But he doubts the efforts will generate any significant outcome at the summit.

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More from @WilliamYang120

May 20
The #G7Summit has released its leaders' communique. Here is the parts related to #China: "We stand prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China, recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China.
We act in our national interest. It is necessary to cooperate with China, given its role in the international community and the size of its economy, on global challenges as well as areas of common interest."
"We call on China to engage with us, including in international fora, on areas such as the climate and biodiversity crisis and the conservation of natural resources in the framework of the Paris and Kunming-Montreal Agreements,...
Read 36 tweets
May 20
Just In: #G7 leaders have released the highly anticipated statement on economic security - "We will address non-market policies and practices designed to reinforce dependencies, and will counter economic coercion.
We will continue to ensure that the clearly defined, narrow set of sensitive technologies that are crucial for national security or could threaten international peace and security are appropriately controlled, without unduly impacting broader trade in technology."
"We affirm that our cooperation to strengthen economic resilience and economic security will be rooted in maintaining and improving a well-functioning international rules-based system, in particular the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
Read 31 tweets
May 20
Today marks the 7th anniversary of #Taiwan President @iingwen coming into power. In a speech, she said two things are very important for the future: maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait and maintaining Taiwan's key position in the global supply chain.
She said over the last seven years, she and her team have redefined Taiwan and helped the world to relearn about Taiwan. She said Taiwan is very different now compared to seven years ago.
She said now having autonomy on national defense is no longer a dream and Taiwan has broken through the economic adversities amid the pandemic and US-China competition.
Read 4 tweets
May 19
From @TelegraphNews: Mike Gallagher, the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), said Emmanuel Macron’s stance on #China is a “dumpster fire” which risks undermining Western support for #Taiwan. telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/…
He said he was “shocked” by the French president’s approach towards Beijing.
“Macron’s trip and comments were what we describe in the United States as a dumpster fire. I was shocked at some of those comments,” Mr Gallagher told the Telegraph.
Read 12 tweets
May 19
“G7 leaders are planning to announce on Saturday measures to respond to Chinese “economic coercion”, as the group of advanced economies seeks to adopt a common approach on #Beijing.”

ft.com/content/cc19f9…
UK officials said a “platform” would be unveiled at the G7 summit in Hiroshima that would provide a forum for the identification of economic vulnerabilities and co-ordination of protective measures.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will open a summit session on economic security by noting China’s use of trade measures to coerce countries including Australia and Lithuania over political disputes.
Read 9 tweets
May 19
At their summit in Japan, G7 leaders have agreed sanctions to "starve Russia's war machine," just days before #Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join them in person. dw.com/en/g7-nations-…
London said it plans to target Russian diamonds, while several news outlets reported that Washington planned to go after those entities helping Moscow to circumvent existing sanctions.
In a joint statement as the summit got underway, the G7 nations said they were "imposing further sanctions and measures to increase the costs to Russia and those who are supporting its war effort."
Read 8 tweets

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