described the The New York Times declaration made by the leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries at the conclusion of their summit last Sunday as confrontational regarding the behavior of the Russian and Chinese governments.
The newspaper said that the summit, which was held in the county of Cornwall, southwest of England, strongly criticized Beijing for its repressive practice against its citizens, and pledged to investigate the source of the “Covid-19” pandemic, and also strongly condemned Moscow’s use of nerve gas and cyber attacks.
She added that the leaders tried to take a unified position on a number of risks, but they did not agree on a number of vital issues, ranging from setting timetables to reduce the use of coal to pledging hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to address the Belt and Road Initiative that China is adopting with the aim of reviving the The ancient Silk Road, which the New York Times considers a project of foreign investment and lending.
Almost
rally of democracies
The newspaper dealt with the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron after his meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden, in which he said that the Group of Seven “is not an anti-Chinese club”, but rather represents a “grouping of democracies” that seek to “work with China on all global issues” and in isolation from differences.
The newspaper considered this statement as a “compliment” that will be appreciated by many Americans, but those who adopt Trump’s slogan “America First” may see it as treachery in the interests of the United States.
The difference in the tone of the leaders’ speech – according to the newspaper – was undoubtedly remarkable, as it was the last time the G7 leaders met – in attendance and face to face – in the city of Biarritz in southern France in 2019.
The final statement at the time made no mention of China, while the United States evaded all commitments to address the climate crisis, and former US President Donald Trump withdrew his support for the final statement issued by leaders during the summit.
However, this time, the outcomes of the Cornwall summit were perfectly consistent with the language that characterized the Cold War era, which is considered by the American newspaper as a reflection of the depth of the feeling that the “retreating” Russia and the “rising” China are working to establish their anti-Western bloc.
The New York Times pointed out that the G7 condemned in its final statement the “destabilizing” behavior of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his “malicious” activities, including interference in the US elections and the “systematic” repression of opponents and the media.
Although Biden succeeded in pushing his counterparts to adopt a more hostile position towards authoritarian regimes, the Group of Seven failed to agree on major axes in the foreign policy agenda put forward by the US president earlier.
The group – adds the New York Times – has not settled on a timetable to stop using coal to generate electric power, which climate advocates see as an indication of the lack of will to confront one of the biggest causes of global warming.
forced labor
The newspaper quoted energy experts as saying that the failure of the group’s countries – which causes about a quarter of the world’s climate pollution – to agree on a deadline to reduce the use of coal weakens their ability to push China to stop exploiting that substance.
Although the leaders called on Beijing to respect “fundamental freedoms, especially with regard to Xinjiang”, where Beijing is accused of committing abuses against the Uighur minority, and in Hong Kong, where it targets democracy activists, they did not agree to prevent the West from participating in projects that benefit from forced labor. .
Instead, it ended up issuing a “vague” declaration to form a working group “to identify areas for strengthening cooperation and collective efforts to eliminate the use of all forms of forced labor in global supply chains.”