The G-7 summit currently underway in Japan will be a key moment for some of the world’s strongest nations to make critical decisions about global crises, even though Russia and China have not been invited to attend.
“It will be crucial for the president [Biden] leave Hiroshima with real results, especially with Biden canceling his subsequent trips to PNG and Australia, a trip intended to showcase US leadership in the Indo-Pacific region,” Kelly Ann Shaw, former G-7 Sherpa and deputy assistant to the president for international economics, he told Fox News Digital.
“On China, this includes strong language backed by substantial G-7 commitments on Chinese economic coercion, military aggression, and allied standards for the new economy, including artificial intelligence,” explained Shaw, currently a partner at Hogan Lovells.
“On Russia, the G-7 should push for tougher sanctions, identify new economic pressure points and propose ways to mitigate Russia’s war’s economic impact on the rest of the globe.”
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The G-7 Summit logo at the entrance to the International Media Center ahead of the G-7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, May 18, 2023. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
The G-7 summit that kicked off on Friday in Hiroshima will see leaders from the United States, Japan, Britain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany and the European Union (EU) meet to address the biggest issues facing the international community. Other attendees will include Australia, Brazil, India (as G-20 chair), Indonesia (as ASEAN chair), Comoros (as African Union chair), South Korea and Vietnam.
Notably, China and Russia will not participate because they are not members of the group, but their actions over the past year will drive most of the discussions at the summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children, and Japan, as a member of the International Criminal Court, could arrest Putin if he even sets foot in the country.
Each year, the summit has a stated theme or goal. In 2021, the summit focused on “Build Back Better”. In 2022, the summit aimed to find “progress towards a just world”. This year’s summit does not have a single focus, but will instead focus on two key points: upholding the international order based on the rule of law and reaching out to the global south.
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President Biden, third left, and Fumio Kishida, center right, Japanese Prime Minister, attend a bilateral meeting ahead of the Group of Seven Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on Thursday, May 18, 2023. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A Japanese official at the Consul General in New York City told Fox News Digital that within these two platforms, the summit will seek to address the crisis in Ukraine and concerns over China’s stock over the past year.
“We are very concerned that Russia has gone so far as to play with the rhetoric of using nuclear weapons, for example,” the official said. “This is a major concern not only for Japan, but for the whole world. So, I think Ukraine probably remains the top priority for the upcoming G-7 summit.”
The official stressed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused impacts far beyond Europe’s borders, which is why the G-7 seeks to align its policies with those of the global south, which includes countries such as India, parts of Africa and the ASEAN economic bloc in Asia, the third largest economy in the region after China and India.
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, center, and his wife Akshata Murty, left, are greeted by officials upon arrival in Hiroshima following their visit to Tokyo ahead of the May 18, 2023 G-7 summit. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The Japanese official said Russia’s aggression had “in many ways” affected energy policy, prices and food issues in these countries.
“We want to show our solidarity with the Global South as we respond to Russian aggression,” he said.
Shaw noted that the G-7 has already tried to address China’s ambitions, most recently when Italy agreed to join Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, something other G-7 members have not addressed. lightly, leading to tensions at the top.
Biden arrived at Iwakuni Air Station in Japan on Thursday at the start of his visit to Japan for the G-7 meeting. (Reuters)
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“Italy signed the initiative right before I became G-7 Sherpa. In fact, my first G-7 meeting was about this very topic,” Shaw said. “It was incredibly tense when we all warned Italy not to move forward, we didn’t hold back.
“Everyone was concerned about China’s attempts to split the G-7, and still are,” he added. “Right now, the stakes are too high for divisiveness and Biden will need to prove he can unite allies, especially as his administration attempts to re-establish communication with China.”
Reuters contributed to this article.
