Biden and Scholz want to stand up to China: EU politician Bütikofer doubts the effectiveness of the G7 criticism

Created: 06/30/2022, 09:24

By: Sven Hauberg

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and US President Joe Biden set their sights on China in Elmau.

© Michael Kappeler/picture alliance/dpa

Not only Russia, but also China was targeted by the heads of state and government at the G7 summit.

Beijing is countering this with its own alliance.

Munich/Elmau – The name “China” only appeared four times last year in the final declaration of the G7 summit;

this year, however, the country is mentioned a whopping 14 times.

But this number is not the only thing that shows the importance that the heads of state and government of the seven most important democratic industrial nations attach to the People's Republic.

The tone of voice has also changed.

"We remind China of the need to uphold the principle of the UN Charter on the peaceful settlement of disputes and to refrain from the use of threats, coercion, intimidation or the use of force," read the 28-page text, published on Tuesday (June 28). ) has been published.

This means, for example, Beijing's behavior in the South China Sea, where China asserts territorial claims for which "there is no legal basis",

In the run-up to the G7 summit in Elmau, the participants had already made it clear that China would be a main topic in the deliberations.

On Sunday, Joe Biden announced a so-called "Global Infrastructure Partnership," a $600 billion program designed to rival China's "New Silk Road."

The new G7 project will "not lead to debt traps," said a US government representative - a dig at China's global infrastructure initiative, which critics repeatedly accuse of making poorer countries financially dependent on the People's Republic.

For the green EU politician Reinhard Bütikofer, Biden's infrastructure program is "unfortunately a model without value so far".

Bütikofer told

: "As long as President Biden can't put any money on the table, his euphonious rhetoric is hollow." For him, the similar EU project "Global Gateway" has "more substance".

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Economically, the G7 countries want to make themselves more independent of China.

They accuse the government in Beijing of acting in a “non-transparent and market-distorting manner”.

However, in the fight against climate change and the loss of biodiversity, cooperation with China must continue.

G7 criticize human rights violations in China

In the Ukraine conflict, China should put pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops, the G7 states are demanding.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz also called on China on Tuesday not to undermine the sanctions imposed on Russia.

"And we insist on that in all the talks we have," said Scholz at the end of the three-day summit.

At the meeting, the heads of state and government assured each other once again "that we will continue to do this together".

China has repeatedly criticized the punitive measures against Russia.

Beijing's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping recently spoke of a "double-edged sword" and a "boomerang".

China is officially neutral in the Ukraine war, but repeatedly emphasizes its "rock-solid" friendship with Russia.

However, observers also assume

The history of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to the present

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China's human rights violations are also mentioned in the final document of the Elmau summit.

"We will continue to promote universal values, including by calling on China to respect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in Tibet and Xinjiang, where forced labor is a major concern of ours." Holding members of other minorities captive in re-education camps and in some cases obliging them to do forced labour.

In response, a law came into force in the United States a few days ago that bans the import of products from Xinjiang unless the manufacturer can prove that the goods were not manufactured using forced labor.

The G7 also called on China to respect the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.

The former British crown colony was returned to the People's Republic on July 1, 25 years ago;

since then the government has taken massive action against the democracy movement.

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Green politician Bütikofer believes it is right that the G7 have dealt with China.

Because China has "become a central player in international relations," "its China focus shows simple realism."

But Bütikofer doubts "that the People's Republic will be impressed by pious wishes and free advice".

The EU must now reduce existing dependencies on China.

"The G7 must become more ambitious."

China is positioning the BRICS countries as a G7 alternative

The Chinese government had invited the so-called BRICS countries to a virtual meeting just a few days before the G7 summit.

In addition to China, the loose alliance also includes Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

Altogether more than 3.2 billion people live in these countries;

the governments of the G7, on the other hand, only represent around 770 million people.

Recently it became known that Argentina and Iran also want to become members of BRICS.

China "actively" supports the alliance's expansion process, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Tuesday.

According to observers, China is trying to set up the BRICS countries as a counterweight to the G7.

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India, next to China the world's most populous country, was invited to the G7 summit in Elmau along with South Africa and three other countries.

So far, neither India nor South Africa have supported the West's course on Russia - and the G7 summit was unable to change that.

Because the interests of the G7 and their partner countries do not always coincide.

Take commodities as an example: While the USA is already no longer buying oil from Russia and the EU wants to stop importing it by the end of the year, India is currently buying more oil from Moscow than it has in a long time, and at particularly favorable conditions.

The NATO summit also deals with China

The difficult relationship with China should also determine the NATO summit in Madrid, where, among other things, all heads of state and government of the G7 are expected.

China is likely to be described as a "systemic challenge" in new security policy guidelines for the next ten years, it was announced in the run-up to the meeting.

Beijing foreign ministry spokesman Zhao already reacted to the alleged choice of words: "We urge NATO to stop spreading false and provocative statements against China immediately," said Zhao, who accused the defense alliance of a "cold war mentality".