News / Foreign Policy

Biden presses G7 countries to take ‘concrete action’ against China

Saturday, 12 June 2021 5:33 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 12 June 2021 5:33 PM ]

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in (L) and US President Joe Biden (R) listen to Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a working sesssion at the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on June 12, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

US President Joe Biden is planning to press attendees at the latest meeting of the world’s seven most powerful economies to help Washington overpower China.

Biden will press the members of the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders to take “concrete action” to call out China’s forced labor practices during meetings on Saturday at a summit in Cornwall, England, according to senior administration officials cited by The Hill.

Biden to press G7 allies to join US pressure against China: Adviser

US President Joe Biden plans to call on Washington’s G7 allies to exert further pressure on China over the alleged use of forced labor in Xinjiang province.

The G7 leaders are also unveiling a global infrastructure initiative called "Back Better World" to help finance climate-friendly infrastructure projects in the developing world as a counter to China's "Belt and Road Initiative."

The moves are collectively part of Biden’s attempt to gather US allies in a joint effort to outcompete China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Biden has made competition with China's growing clout the central-piece of his foreign policy.

Russia says expanded G7 summit without China a ‘flawed idea’

President Trump proposed in May that the current format of the G7 is ‘outdated.’

A senior administration official told reporters that Biden would urge other member states of the G7 for “concrete action on forced labor to make clear to the world that we believe these practices are an affront to human dignity and an egregious example of China's unfair economic competition.”

The G7 is comprised of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

China has denounced Washington’s anti-Beijing policy as “too negative", insisting that the Biden administration is more focused on confrontation rather than cooperation with China.

China hoped for an improvement in relations under Biden, who succeeded President Donald Trump in January, but the new administration has shown no sign of backing down on hardline policies toward China.

The US and China are at odds over a range of issues, including alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and Beijing's policies in regard to Hong Kong, Taiwan and the disputed terrorizes in the South China Sea, as well as the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.