You know how it is with these international politics – they always start off with a bunch of leaders trying to sound serious and responsible, but it all quickly devolves into a glorified game of telephone. Case in point: a recent meeting attended by representatives from the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Japan and the European Union, where they collectively voiced their disapproval of China’s behavior as a member of the global community. Not exactly a newsflash, right?
The group was reeling from French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Beijing, during which Macron suggested that Europe should avoid getting sucked into the feud between China and the United States over Taiwan. Apparently, Beijing thinks that Taiwan is their property, while Taiwan is pretty sure they’re doing just fine on their own, thank you very much. It’s like an elementary school playground with bigger words and scarier weapons.
But fear not, dear reader! Despite concerns that the United States and its allies were divided on how to approach China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was quick to dismiss such notions. According to him, there’s “clear unanimity” in the group’s approach to dealing with any differences peacefully. Sweet! Nothing like a good old-fashioned kumbaya moment on an international scale.
The group also voiced concerns about China’s expanding nuclear arsenal, which definitely sounds like something to worry about. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who hosted the meeting in the swanky mountain town of Karuizawa, made it clear that everyone was on the same page.
However, French President Macron’s post-visit comment that Europe should try not to stir up any trouble with China over Taiwan raised some eyebrows across the pond. American Republicans were particularly up in arms (as they tend to be), accusing Macron of not taking the Chinese threat seriously enough. Honestly, at this point, it’d be easier to count the things Republicans aren’t outraged about.
American officials know that Europe doesn’t share the same level of concern over China’s rise as the United States does. After all, Europe’s still reeling from Russia’s war in Ukraine and certainly doesn’t want another territorial conflict on its hands. However, everyone agrees that China shouldn’t be giving lethal aid to Russia, who are currently causing plenty of problems in Ukraine. Luckily, several high-ranking European Union officials and foreign ministers from Japan and Germany have visited Beijing recently and were assured that China wouldn’t be providing weapons to Russia. So there’s that, at least.
The G-7 communique had some stern words for China regarding their human rights record, which everyone should be doing if they have a conscience. However, the group also made sure to point out areas where they could work together, such as climate change, biodiversity, global health security, and gender equality. Basic human decency – always a great starting point!
Serious News: washingtonpost
