White House nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned on Sunday G7 leaders rallied round the necessity to “counter and compete” with China on challenges starting from safeguarding democracy to the know-how race.
On China, the G7 assembly was “a significant move forward from where the G7 has ever been before and reflects a growing convergence that wasn’t there a few years ago,” Sullivan mentioned aboard Air Force One on its strategy to Brussels.
“There is a broad view that China represents a significant challenge to the world’s democracies,” Sullivan mentioned, including that leaders agreed the necessity for a typical agenda in addressing China, together with parts the place they might “stand up and counter and compete.”
“Words like counter and compete were words coming out of the mouths of every leader in the room, not just Joe Biden,” he mentioned.
The Group of Seven wealthy nations pledged on Sunday to deal with China’s rising affect, singling out China of their communique over human rights in Xinjiang and demanding freedoms and a excessive diploma of autonomy for Hong Kong.
Asked to touch upon China’s remarks in regards to the G7 summit that days have been over when “a small group of countries” determined the destiny of the world, Sullivan mentioned: “That is sad. If their claim is that all of the other world’s largest economies count as small countries, then they have a massive problem of perspective.”
G7 leaders additionally sought to counter China’s rising affect by providing creating nations an infrastructure plan that would rival Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative by supporting tasks similar to railways in Africa and wind farms in Asia.
Beijing has repeatedly hit again in opposition to what it perceives as makes an attempt by Western powers to comprise China. It says many main powers are nonetheless gripped by an outdated imperial mindset after years of humiliating China.
