China is not part of the G7, but came back in a lot of conversations and statements at the last summit, mainly because of Joe Biden. The US president wants to convince his allies that Beijing is the main enemy. His obsession with China can be explained, in addition to economic and political reasons, by the open contestation of American hegemony by this Asian country, which claims that Washington is in decline.
Upon taking office, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the competition with China “biggest geopolitical challenge of the 21st century“, specifying that this state is the only country in competition with the United States in all fields: diplomatic, military, economic and technological. When Congress votes a budget on science and technology in particular, it is presented as essential to compete with China.
It is also about internal politics. Joe Biden and his advisers are convinced that Donald Trump’s election is in part due to the rise of China: its economic strength has harmed industrial jobs middle and popular classes, thus promoting the rise of Donald Trump.
“Another vision and another approach”
Joe Biden continues the policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who was also tough on China, except that he works with Asian and European allies. Example with the vast infrastructure plan to help the poor, driven by the United States, a program competing with the “new silk roads” of China, although it is not presented as such.
With 40,000 billion dollars for climate, health, digital technology and the fight against inequalities, a member of the US delegation, however, asserted that countries did not have to choose between the United States and China. It is a question of proposing “another vision and another approach”, while it is true that the United States the Europeans are behind in countries which need infrastructures, in particular in Africa.
However, not everyone agrees with the US strategy towards China. “The G7 is not a club hostile to China,” said Emmanuel Macron, adding “but we must not give in to any naivety”, whether against China or against Russia. Europeans intend to keep a certain independence vis-à-vis Washington. Germany, for example, is said to have been reluctant to propose an alternative to the New Silk Roads.
While there are some nuances, the G7 leaders generally have the same views. In particular “respect the human rights” of the Muslim minority of Uyghurs. On the health crisis, they are asking the World Health Organization for a further scientific investigation into the origin of the coronavirus. It is not explicitly stated, but Westerners suspect Beijing of not having said everything about the origin of the virus.
In conclusion, vis-à-vis China, Washington can generally count on its allies, but countries, like France, make it less of a personal matter. Indeed, it is also necessary to protect current investments in China, diplomatically speaking.
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