G7 commits to action against China’s ‘unfair’ trade practices

By Thomas Escritt and Crispian Balmer

BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy (Reuters) – Group of Seven leaders pledged on Friday to tackle what they called China’s unfair trade practices that harm their workers and industries, according to a draft declaration released on the last day of their annual summit.

The G7 also warned of measures against Chinese financial institutions that helped Russia obtain weapons for its war against Ukraine.

Leaders of Italy, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Japan on Friday discussed concerns about China’s excess industrial capacity, which Western governments say is distorting local markets.

Pope Francis was then due to make a historic appearance at the southern Italian summit to discuss artificial intelligence.

The draft declaration, seen by Reuters, stresses that the G7 was not trying to harm China or thwart its economic development, but would “continue to take measures to protect our businesses from unfair practices, to standardize the rules of the game and remedying persistent damage.

The United States this week imposed new sanctions on China-based companies that supply semiconductors to Russia, amid concerns about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance on Taiwan and conflicts with the Philippines over rival maritime claims.

“China is not providing weapons (to Russia), but the capacity to produce these weapons and the technology available to do so, so it is actually helping Russia,” US President Joe Biden told reporters on Thursday. of the summit after signing a bilateral security agreement. pact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

During the first day of their meeting in southern Italy, G7 countries agreed to a deal to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in loans secured by interest from frozen Russian assets – hailing the agreement as a powerful signal of Western determination.

In the draft, G7 leaders also promised sanctions against entities that allegedly helped Russia circumvent sanctions on its oil by fraudulently transporting it.

ABORTION LABEL LINE

The draft reiterates commitments made at the G7 meeting in Japan last year on sexual and reproductive rights, but does not directly mention the word abortion.

The issue sparked a dispute between France and Italy after Rome – which holds the rotating G7 presidency – demanded the removal of the reference to “safe and legal abortion” from the final declaration.

The Pope will be joined by ten other heads of state and government, including the Prime Minister of India and the King of Jordan, as the G7 opens its doors wide to foreigners to show that it is not a reserved and exclusive club .

In addition to his speech on AI, the pope will hold several bilateral meetings, including with Biden, Zelenskiy and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

“It is a historic day. We will welcome the Holy Father. It is the first time that a pontiff has participated in a G7. I am proud that this is happening under the Italian presidency,” the Italian president told the press on Thursday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The leaders will also discuss immigration, a crucial issue for Meloni who is pushing Europe to help curb illegal flows from Africa and who has launched a flagship plan to boost the continent’s development to help itself attack the root cause of these departures.

Many leaders will leave Italy on Friday evening, including Biden, and Meloni said they had already agreed on the summit’s conclusions, which will be approved at the end of the day.

On Saturday there will be room for bilateral meetings for those who remain, before a final press conference by Meloni.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray, Angelo Amante, John Irish and Andrea Shalal; writing by Keith Weir, editing by Rod Nickel and Christina Fincher)