Group of Seven (G-7) leaders on June 13 called out the Chinese regime over its rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, vowed to counter Beijing’s unfair trade practices, and demanded a thorough investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in China.
After discussing how to come up with a unified position on China, leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies issued a highly critical communiqué that delved into a range of concerns targeting the communist regime’s behavior domestically and abroad.
“We will promote our values, including by calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang and those rights, freedoms, and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” the G-7 said.
Global pushback against Beijing’s aggression has risen in recent times, and President Joe Biden has pledged to rally allies to confront the regime’s economic abuses and push back against human rights violations.
Speaking after the summit in England, Biden said leaders agreed to a proposal to finance infrastructure projects in the developing world that would counter Beijing’s “Belt and Road” Initiative. The Belt and Road project has been criticized as a form of “debt trap” diplomacy which saddles developing nations with unsustainable debt levels, while bolstering Beijing’s political and economic clout in these countries.
“We think there is a more equitable way to provide for the needs of countries around the world,” Biden said.
The president also called on the regime to abide by global rules. “China needs to start to act more responsibly in terms of international norms and human rights and transparency,” Biden said.
He demanded Beijing provide access to its labs so the world can probe the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility that it was a result of “an experiment gone awry.”
“The world needs to have access,” Biden said.
BY CATHY HE
