The Group of Seven (G7) will hold a summit in Hiroshima, Japan on the 19th of this month to discuss some of the issues taking place on the international stage, the most important of which is Russia’s war on Ukraine and the so-called “economic coercion” that China may implement. , in addition to military tensions in East Asia.
The summit, which will be held amid rising tensions in East Asia, will also be attended by U.S. President Joe Biden. Some Japanese officials have warned that China may repeat the Ukrainian scenario on the Taiwan issue.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida greeted the leaders of the other six major economic powers in the Group of Seven in Hiroshima, the city devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945, for a summit expected to last until Sunday. Today the city still has a Peace Monument.
The G7 leaders are scheduled to kick off the summit with a visit to the Peace Museum in central Hiroshima, which commemorates the U.S. atomic bombing of the city at the end of World War II.
The leaders of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Canada will seek to build a united front against China and Russia and try to reach consensus on other strategic issues.
Russia’s 15-month-old war with Ukraine will be the main agenda of the summit, along with “discussions on the battlefield situation,” according to US national security adviser Jack Sullivan.
The United States and its allies have stepped up to provide arms to Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Zelensky will also participate in the summit via video link.
Discussions will focus on tightening sanctions against Russia – which have so far caused the Russian economy to shrink in the first quarter of 2023, Sullivan said.
He also noted that G7 leaders will discuss how to prevent circumvention of the sanctions that has allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue funding his war effort in Ukraine.
The G7 has strongly condemned Putin’s repeated threats to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war, which some observers believe was aimed at undermining European and American resolve.
These risks will be highlighted again when G7 leaders visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The park was built on the site of the atomic bomb attack on August 6, 1945 to commemorate the 140,000 victims who died in the bombing.
Fumio Kishida’s family is from Hiroshima, and he himself was first elected in the city. He hopes to use the opportunity to urge the leaders of the other six countries – especially the United States, Britain and France, which have thousands of nuclear warheads – to commit to transparency and limits on their nuclear arsenals.
Several military leaders and diplomatic officials called on the nuclear powers on the 17th of this month to put aside their differences and discuss measures to control nuclear weapons.
But hopes of making progress on this front at this G7 summit remain elusive given rising tensions with Russia, North Korea, China and other nuclear powers.
“Economic coercion”
The G7 will also focus much of its discussion on China, particularly how to deal with what they call “economic blackmail” that China may carry out by diversifying production and supply networks, while the Chinese government has said Willingness to impose restrictions on trade.
According to Sullivan, G7 leaders are expected to denounce such “economic coercion” and seek to overcome transatlantic differences in their stance on China.
However, European countries – notably France and Germany – insist that tackling the dangers of “economic coercion” does not mean cutting ties with China, one of the world‘s largest markets.
The Elysee Palace in France emphasized before the summit that it has no “hostility” towards China and called for a “positive message” of cooperation, “on condition that we participate in the negotiations together.”
Japan has also invited eight other countries to Hiroshima, including emerging economic powers such as India and Brazil, in a move to include leaders who have taken cautious stances on issues including Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising Chinese military influence.