HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies agreed on Friday to toughen sanctions against Russia, while also targeting trade with China in a draft statement to be released after their talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The need to reduce dependency was emphasized. ,
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), joined later this week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have vowed to restrict any exports to Russia that could help it in its 15-month war against Ukraine .
“This includes exports of industrial machinery, equipment and other technologies that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine,” they said in a joint statement made public on Friday.
For China, which the G7 powers increasingly see as a threat to economic security, according to an early draft of the statement, they had to agree that its status as the world’s second-largest economy meant it was less likely to seek cooperation. There was no other option. Viewed by Reuters.
“Our political approaches are not designed to harm China, we do not intend to thwart China’s economic progress and development, which is still subject to change,” the draft said.
However, the draft called for action to “reduce excessive interdependence” in critical supply chains and to counter “harmful practices” in technology transfer and data disclosure.
It also reaffirmed the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and urged China to pressure Russia to end its military aggression against Ukraine.
G7 members – the United States, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Canada and Italy – will take advantage of the three-day meeting to discuss the strategy to follow in the Ukrainian conflict, which is showing no signs of abating.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in Japan’s lower house of parliament, said he had chosen the city for the summit to focus on arms control.
Hiroshima and another Japanese city, Nagasaki, were destroyed by US nuclear attacks 78 years ago, ending World War II.
The G7 countries reaffirmed their condemnation of Russian aggression and pledged more support for its war-torn economy in the form of military and financial aid to Ukraine this year and next.
Zelensky will attend on Sunday, said two officials involved in the G7 summit, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
