Joe Biden participated in the G7 summit with his peers from France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom. The meeting took place in the city of Hiroshima, where members discussed the war between Russia and Ukraine and the risks and opportunities of artificial intelligence. Another issue that crept into the agenda was the influence of China, which was mainly addressed by the British leader.
Rishi Sunak has been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since October 2022, when he succeeded in winning the leadership of the Conservative Party following the resignation of Liz Truss. Both he and Georgia Meloni of Italy made their debuts at the G7 annual meeting of world leaders.
As reported by POLITICO, Sunak stopped before reporters and assessed the major geopolitical threats of the 21st century and commented on one country in particular. “China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity,” Sunak told the press, stating that the country is “increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.”
日本政府と日本の皆様の素晴らしいおもてなしに感謝いたします。
At this historic summit, #G7 leaders recommitted ourselves to the path of peace, freedom and democracy.
Thank you for your hospitality @kishida230 and Mrs Kishida. pic.twitter.com/Yl0470xyg4
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 21, 2023
“We will work together as the G7 and other countries to make sure that we can de-risk ourselves and the vulnerability of supply chains that we have seen from China, take the steps necessary to protect ourselves against hostile investment and do so in a way that doesn’t damage each other,” the British prime minister added.
During the summit, Sunak was noted for encouraging his peers to send more weapons to Ukraine. His country has already delivered long-range cruise missiles, a persistent request from the Ukrainian forces that had so far gone unheeded. In addition, he agreed with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, to build “an international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities.”
The leaders also agreed to try to convince China to pressure Russia to end the invasion. “We call on China to press Russia to stop its military aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” they wrote in a joint statement.
“We encourage China to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, including through its direct dialogue with Ukraine,” they added.
