China Summons Japan's Ambassador, Denounces G7 "Smears"
China summoned Japan's ambassador Hideo Tarumi on Sunday to protest the communiqué issued by Japan and other G7 countries, which according to the Chinese foreign ministry "smears" and attacks Beijing. The foreign ministry also denounced the UK in particular.
Indeed the joint communiqué took aim at China over a number of issues ranging from abysmal human rights to charges of economic coercion and expansionist maritime claims, as well as aggression toward Taiwan. G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima also called on China to pressure Russia to end the Ukraine war.
While President Biden on Sunday from the G7 expressed hope for a "thaw" in relations with Beijing, coming off recent successful restoration of dialogue, China's new statement is blistering.
China has charged US ally Japan with engaging in "activities and joint declarations … to smear and attack China, grossly interfering in China’s internal affairs, violating the basic principles of international law and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan."
On Monday state media also blasted the "anti-China workshop" of the G7, with Global Times writing, “The US is pushing hard to weave an anti-China net in the Western world.”
The article entitled “G7 has descended into an anti-China workshop” additionally said:
“This is not just a matter of brutal interference in China’s internal affairs and smearing China, but also an undisguised urge for confrontation between the camps.”
According to more from the CCP mouthpiece:
Unlike the past "focus" on specific issues with China, this G7 communiqué simply includes "China" as a whole, which is consistent with the recent move of NATO, highlighting that the US is pushing hard to weave an anti-China net in the Western world. The communiqué mentions China 20 times by name alone, the most in recent years. It almost hyped all the topics it could find, such as Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang, and China's nuclear power, in addition to insinuating China's "economic coercion." This is not just a matter of brutal interference in China's internal affairs and smearing China, but also an undisguised urge for confrontation between the camps, which has made the G7 one of the biggest risks faced by peace and development in the world today.
Biden on Sunday had some interesting words concerning US relations with China. He explained that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping previously pledged better communications...
“And then this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars’ worth of spying equipment was flying over the United States, and it got shot down, and everything changed in terms of talking to one another. I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly,” Biden said.
China is also no doubt blistering over White House plans to give Taiwan $500 million in “free” weapons, to which Beijing will likely respond with further threatening military drills surrounding the self-ruled island.
Does the G in G7 stand for gaslighting?
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 22, 2023
The sheer audacity to complain about China's "economic coercion" when 27% of the world's countries suffer under Western sanctions, causing them "harm similar to that suffered during armed conflicts". pic.twitter.com/oh4ouKdfnb
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As Rabobank has noted, the G7 Communique reads like a greatest hits list for Western foreign policy. Some highlights include:
Support Ukraine for a as long as it takes in the face of Russia’s illegal war of aggression;
Coordinate our approach to economic resilience and economic security that is based on diversifying and deepening partnerships and de-risking, not de-coupling;
Support a free and open Indo-Pacific and oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion;
Strengthen our partnerships with African countries and support greater African representation in multilateral fora;
Strongly opposing any unilateral attempts to change the peacefully established status of territories by force or coercion anywhere in the world and reaffirming that the acquisition of territory by force is prohibited;
Strengthening the rules-based multilateral trading system and keeping pace with the evolution of digital technologies.
