China afraid of G7 strength? Beijing's embassy in UK says 'small' groups don't rule world

China reacted to the issues covered by G7 (Group of Seven) leaders at the summit that is being held in the UK, saying that the days when "global decisions" were dictated by a "small group of countries are long gone". During their meet in Cornwall, leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States addressed a range of global issues, including forced labour practices targeting China's Uyghur Muslims. Now, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London issued a statement saying that world affairs should be handled through "consultation by all countries". The spokesman also mentioned the "so-called rules formulated by a small number of countries" and added that the valid global system was the "international order based on the principles" of the United Nations. 

"We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are equals, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries," the statement further added. 

"There is only one system and one order in the world, that is, the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on international law, not the so-called system and order advocated by a handful of countries," it further added. 

Biden on countering China

US President Joe Biden tried to persuade fellow democratic leaders to stand united to compete economically with Beijing. He wanted the Build Back Better World (B3W) plan to be a better alternative to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). White House officials also said that Biden wants the G7 leaders to speak in a single voice against the forced labour practices and other ethnic minorities. 

This year's G7 was hosted by the United Kingdom and the last summit, in 2019, was held in France. The theme of this year's G7 summit was 'Build Back Better'. The main points of discussion were global COVID-19 recovery, climate change and trade. China has never been a member. Non-G7 nations India, South Korea, Australia and South Africa were invited to attend as guests to help the group's support for fellow democracies.  

PM Modi addresses G7 session

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 12 addressed the G7 virtual summit in Cornwall. During the participation in the first Outreach Session of the G7 Summit, PM Modi gave the Mantra of "One Earth, One Health" in his remarks. The session, titled ‘Building Back Stronger - Health’, focused on global recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic and on strengthening resilience against future pandemics. Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the support extended by the G7 and other guest countries during the recent wave of COVID infections in India.

IMAGE: AP