G7 calls for new study on origin of covid-19 in China

G7 announces donation of 1 billion vaccines 1:20

Brussels (CNN) -

World leaders attending the Group of Seven summit on Sunday called for a new study on the origins of COVID-19, including in China, after considering that an initial report was missing because Beijing was he had refused to cooperate.

They agreed to denounce human rights abuses in China, an issue that had been hotly debated behind closed doors during the three days of the summit.

"I think we are in a contest with China ... in a contest with autocratic governments around the world, over whether democracies can compete with them in a rapidly changing 21st century," US President Joe Biden said in a speech. post-summit press conference.

“And I think the way we act and if we come together as democracies is going to determine whether our grandchildren look back 15 years from now and say, 'Did you step up?

Are democracies as relevant, as powerful as they have been? '

«And I left the meeting with all my colleagues believing that they were convinced ... they believe that it is so.

And so I think they will see a direct deal with China.

The leaders, in the G7 summit communiqué, also singled out Russia as a host for networks that have carried out ransomware attacks wreaking havoc on critical systems, saying countries must do more to tackle criminal activity within their borders. .

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G7 leaders outlined steps to end the coronavirus pandemic and prepare for future pandemics.

Leaders have collectively pledged to donate more than 2 billion doses of Covid-19.

The environment was also a major topic of the summit, with the statement asserting that the G7 leaders committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

• G7 countries promise more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine for the rest of the world, says Boris Johnson

The leaders adopted the Biden administration's' Build Back Better 'slogan in the statement, writing:' We will develop a new partnership to build back better for the world, through a radical change in our approach to investing in infrastructure, including through of an initiative for a clean and green growth ”.

Sunday's announcements came after the leaders of the G7 countries - the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Japan - met in south-west England for their annual summit to discuss pressing issues at the global scenario and coordinate policies.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at a press conference that he was particularly pleased with the commitments of the G7 nations to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the rest of the world.

Leaders at the summit have pledged to provide at least one billion additional doses of covid-19 vaccines to the rest of the world by next year, in addition to the one billion already committed.

“What we as the G7 must do is demonstrate the benefits of democracy, freedom and human rights to the rest of the world.

We can do this through medical history.

We can do this by working together to stop the devastation caused by the coronavirus so that it never happens again, "he added.

US officials in particular characterized the language about China in the statement as a coup from Biden, who entered the summit in hopes of convincing his fellow leaders to take a tougher line.

He has made the competition between democracies and autocracies a central theme of his first trip abroad, and he wants the leaders of other democratic countries to speak out more openly against authoritarian regimes.

He met resistance from some European leaders, who do not share his view of China as an existential threat.

Before the final session, it was unclear whether language that specifically mentions forced labor practices or human rights abuses would be included in the final statement.

Ultimately, the final statement released on Sunday expressed "concern" about state-sponsored forced labor, particularly in the agriculture, solar and garment sectors.

He said China should respect human rights in Xinjiang, allow a high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong and work to prevent a deterioration of security in the South China Sea.

He also asked leaders to consult with each other to find ways to counter abusive economic practices.

"This has been an unusually substantive and productive G7," said a White House official.

The summit's final declaration came after an intense debate over the language that had raged overnight.

US administration officials had said on Saturday that while Biden and other leaders were getting along, the China issue raised an area of ​​disagreement.

In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and European Union leaders seemed reluctant to include lines in the final document that could be seen as a provocation to China, according to senior officials at the administration.

Biden was backed in his views by Johnson and, to some extent, by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a tougher line on China as he faces re-election next year.

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The United States and its allies have stepped up pressure on China against Beijing's alleged crackdown on the Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority, in the western Xinjiang region.

The US State Department estimates that up to 2 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities have passed through an extensive network of detention centers in Xinjiang.

Former detainees allege that they were subjected to intense political indoctrination, forced labor, torture and sexual abuse in these detention centers.

China vehemently denies allegations of human rights abuses and insists that the camps are voluntary "vocational training centers" designed to crack down on religious extremism and terrorism.

Sunday's announcement of a new study on the origins of Covid-19 came weeks after Biden said he had directed the US intelligence community to redouble its efforts to investigate the origins of the pandemic and report back to him in 90 days.

Biden's announcement came after a US intelligence report found that several researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill in November 2019 and had to be hospitalized, a new detail that fueled new pressure. public about Biden to delve into the origin of the virus.

• China may not be part of the G7, but it dominates the agenda

"China has to start acting more responsibly in terms of international standards on human rights and transparency," Biden said.

“Transparency matters in all areas.

And I think the idea that, for example - one of the things that I raised, and others raised, because I was not the only one who raised this - is that we don't know. "

“We have not had access to the laboratories to determine whether or not - I have not reached a conclusion because our intelligence community is not sure - it was the consequence of a market, of an interface of bats with animals in the environment that caused this covid-19, or if it was an experiment that went wrong in the laboratory.

G7 leaders also pledged to increase and coordinate global vaccine manufacturing capacity on all continents, improve early warning systems, and shorten the cycle of safe and effective vaccine development, treatment and testing from 300 days to 100 days. .

CNN's Jessie Yeung, James Griffiths, and Nectar Gan contributed to this report.

Covid-19 Origin