G7 NATIONS CRAFTING POLICY TO DEFANG CHINA, TAME RUSSIA

The Group of Seven (G7) nations are considering a US proposal to counter what the White House sees as China’s economic coercion, Alberto Nardelli and Nick Wadhams reported for Bloomberg News.

A paper was circulated ahead of a two-day meeting of G-7 foreign ministers in London hosted by British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, according to officials who declined to be identified as the talks are private.

A discussion about China on Tuesday was led by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was also expected to raise allegations of forced labor in the Xinjiang region. The US wants a consultation mechanism that would involve the G7 -- as well as other key stakeholders -- to ensure a coordinated response to China’s moves and with the aim of boosting the resilience of G-7 nations, according to a diplomat.

The initiative coincides with the hardening of Germany, Italy, and France -- the three European Union countries that participate in the G-7-- as they begin to align with the US administration in its standoff with China.

The U.S. is still a fair bit more hawkish than the EU when it comes to Beijing, Nardelli and Wadhams said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that major Western democracies needed a joint China strategy with more focus on human rights, Michael Fischer and Isobel Frodsham reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

“Economic interests are everywhere, but issues of human rights and freedoms must be given greater space when it comes to China," he added.

Russia is also in the spotlight following a troop build-up on the border with Ukraine, its imprisonment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny and the situation in Belarus.

"We are united by values such as democracy, freedom and human rights, and we want to represent these together again throughout the world," Maas said.

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