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The G7 summit closes with a stark warning for China

2024-06-15 08:12:54Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
G7 leaders

Leaders of the Group of Seven countries concluded the summit with the strongest warning yet to China, declaring that Beijing's support for Moscow's military industrial base "is enabling Russia to continue its war of illegal in Ukraine".

G7 leaders also agreed to US President Joe Biden's proposal to offer Kiev tens of billions of dollars in loans, to be repaid from interest generated by Russia's frozen assets held in Western financial institutions. The Italian Prime Minister, at the same time the organizer of the high-level meeting, Giorgia Meloni, said that "we have reached a political agreement to provide 50 billion dollars of further financial support to Ukraine by the end of the year".

The leaders of the world's richest democracies said they are "committed to increasing the costs of war for Russia", threatening to impose further sanctions on those who help Moscow evade sanctions.

The warning to China is contained in the joint statement issued by the leaders as the second day of the high-level meeting in Apulia, Italy, was winding down. The communique contains the strongest language yet used against Beijing, reflecting President Joe Biden's frustration with the role China is playing in empowering Russia's war machine.

Beijing is providing Russia with the technology to produce weapons, President Biden said Thursday evening during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "So it's actually helping Russia," he said.

G7 leaders noted the risk China poses to the security of the global economy, including overproduction of electric cars and trade and investment practices in developing countries.

The European Union on Wednesday announced tariff increases of up to 38% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, amid investigations into whether Chinese automakers are flooding European markets with cheaper, government-subsidized electric vehicles.

Beijing said it would "take all necessary measures" to protect its interests, but did not retaliate against the EU.

Earlier this year, the United States quadrupled tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and imposed large increases on some Chinese steel and aluminum products, solar panels and semiconductors.

“As time goes by, it is clearer that the ambition of [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] is to restore China's dominance at least in the Indo-Pacific region, perhaps even beyond. And that's taking place primarily through an effort to establish economic and technological dominance," a senior Biden administration official told reporters traveling with the president on Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters.

Beijing's support for Russia could "pose a long-term threat to the security of Europe," the US official warned.

Earlier this week, the United States announced secondary sanctions against entities that help Moscow, including China-based companies that sell semiconductors to Russia and smaller Chinese banks with ties to Russian financial institutions previously sanctioned.

Beijing denounced the sanctions, accusing Washington of using the war "as an opportunity" to oppress other countries. "All this reveals the calculations of the United States, the hypocrisy and what persecution they are," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Thursday.

The Pope brings attention to artificial intelligence

G7 leaders committed to "safe and reliable artificial intelligence" and "good governance of artificial intelligence by promoting inclusiveness" and mitigating risks to human rights and fragmentation of the governance framework.

The Group of Seven found an unusual ally – Pope Francis, who spoke on the ethics of artificial intelligence at a special session with leaders. Last year, the Catholic leader fell victim to images created by artificial intelligence, showing him wearing an expensive jacket, or riding a motorcycle, or flying a fighter jet, or in a nightclub and other settings inappropriate.

Italian Prime Minister Meloni is seeking to strengthen the initiative of Pope Francis, "The Call of Rome for the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence". This initiative calls on governments, institutions and businesses to ensure that "digital innovation and technological progress serve human ingenuity and creativity and not gradually replace them".

Much work still needs to be done as the regulatory frameworks in the G7 member countries are different, Raluca Csernatoni, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told VOA.

“These inconsistencies and the lack of a unifying/harmonizing logic will be difficult to resolve politically, for G7 members to achieve interoperability; as well as internationally, for the principles to be extended beyond their current scope and adopted globally; as well as economically, for global business in all these key markets," she said.

Pope Francis could bring attention back to the ethics of artificial intelligence, including protecting exposed people and bridging the global digital divide, Ms Csernatoni said, despite the "Catholic overtones".

Catholic influence at the high-level meeting also created divisions in another direction, with Italy insisting on removing the reference to "safe and legal abortion" from the final communique. At their meeting in Japan last year, the communique called for "access to safe and legal abortion, as well as post-abortion care."

Dropping the phrase was a victory for Ms Meloni but was opposed by other leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. President Biden himself is a devout Catholic, but has been a supporter of women's reproductive rights, including abortion.

"The language related to abortion says we reiterated our commitments from the Hiroshima communique," the official told VOA. "Some of the words may not be identical, but the commitments are the same."

Leaders committed to tackling the root cause of emigration, border management and combating migrant smuggling. Far-right leader Meloni campaigned on anti-immigrant rhetoric but has made investments in Africa to tackle migration to Europe, a key theme of her G7 presidency.

The leaders also reaffirmed support for the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal. President Biden said Thursday that he was not convinced a pause in the fighting would be reached soon and that Hamas was responsible for the delay.

"I have presented an approach that has been approved by the UN Security Council, by the G7, by the Israelis, and the biggest obstacle so far is the refusal of Hamas to sign it, even though they have presented something similar," he said.

President Biden returns to the United States following the conclusion of the G7 sessions and bilateral meetings with Mrs. Meloni and Pope Francis. He will participate in electoral activities in Los Angeles during the weekend./VOA/


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