G7 Renews Vow To Defend Int'l Order; China Fumes On Statement

The Group of Seven's resolve to defend the international order is likely only to have strengthened after seeing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travel all the way to Japan to meet the leaders of the major democracies to drum up support for fighting back against Russia's invasion, Mainichi Shimbun reported.

Photo Insert: Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday to join the G7 summit discussions.

Shortly after Zelenskyy arrived in Hiroshima on Saturday to join the summit discussions, the G7 issued a communique pledging to uphold the "free and open international order based on the rule of law" and expressed strong opposition to "any unilateral attempts to change the peacefully established status of territories by force or coercion."

But the statement may not mean that the G7 is on the same page in dealing with another autocratic nation, China, in which many members have huge economic stakes even as they are wary of its growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

While agreeing to bolster sanctions against Russia and vowing to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes," the G7 members appeared to use more nuanced statements when it came to their relations with Beijing, saying, "We stand prepared to build constructive and stable relations with China, recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China."

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