China may not be part of the G7, but it dominates the agenda

(CNN) – China may not be part of the Group of Seven (G7), the informal club made up of the world’s largest and richest democracies, but its presence is likely to feature prominently in the group’s first face-to-face summit in nearly two years.
China, and the ideological challenges posed by its rise, will be one of the most pressing issues facing Chinese leaders. G7 when they meet in England on Friday.

In his first overseas trip as president of the United States, Joe Biden is expected to try to convince his allies to join Washington in taking a tougher stance on Beijing for his actions in Xinjiang. Hong Kong and the South China Sea, among other areas.

Introducing his trip last week, Biden wrote in The Washington Post that “the United States must lead the world from a position of strength,” including in dealing with “damaging activities by the governments of China and Russia.”

In some areas, there are signs that such a united front is already forming.

In a joint statement on Thursday, Biden and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson pledged to support new research into the origins of COVID-19, including in China.

Support from the UK, and possibly other G7 members, will reinforce pressure from Biden to reexamine the origin of the virus, including the theory of the lab’s leak. Beijing lunged against Biden’s call last month, accusing Washington of “political manipulation to deflect blame.”

Apparently at the top too launch is expected a green alternative initially pioneered by Biden to rival China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, which aims to support sustainable development in developing countries.

In addition, several countries have been invited to participate in the summit, including Australia, which will use the occasion to seek support in its growing trade disputes with China. On Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked the G7 nations to support reform of the World Trade Organization to address the increasing use of “economic coercion.”

This emerging alliance is likely to antagonize Beijing further. On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China criticized Biden’s plan of rallying the allies around China, accusing it of “fueling the confrontation.”

“Forming groups, pursuing bloc politics and forming small gangs are unpopular actions and doomed to failure. We hope that the relevant countries will put aside ideological biases and look at China objectively and rationally, ”said ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a press conference.

But at the same time, there is a growing view in China that the G7 is a holdover from the past and its influence, along with that of its participating countries, is on the decline. This view, vehemently promoted by the country’s state media, has been reinforced by China’s apparent economic recovery after the pandemic.

Nor does it go unnoticed by Beijing watchers that it is the G7 that reacts to China, rather than China reacting to the G7.

“The influence and power (of the G7) are no longer worthy of attention. The rationale is that the world’s economic and political center of gravity has shifted eastward, ”read an opinion piece published Thursday in the state-run Global Times newspaper stating that China is now setting the world agenda.

And while the G7 nations may be shifting toward something akin to a united front in certain areas, it remains to be seen whether the countries will be willing to risk damaging bilateral relations with Beijing.

The observers from China quoted by the Global Times seem to be sure that the “fundamental divergences” of the G7 countries on how to treat China “will prevent them from taking substantial action.”

In fact, as the world begins to recover from the pandemic, many Western countries remain dependent on China’s market and investments as never before.

Beijing, for its part, takes advantage of it. The day before the G7 summit began, China passed a law to counter foreign sanctions, a symbolic gesture for Western nations that their counter measures, whether on the Hong Kong, Xinjiang, trade or technology issues , will be met with strong retaliation.

Photo of the day

“Eating the sun”: A partial solar eclipse is seen over Mount Miaofeng in Beijing on Thursday. In ancient Chinese folklore, a solar eclipse was believed to occur when a mythical celestial dog attacked and devoured the sun.

The Chinese rideshare company to go public in New York amid tensions between the United States and China

The Chinese rideshare giant Didi will go public in the United States.

The company, which offers public transportation, taxi and car-sharing services in China, and also has services in Brazil, Mexico and other countries, said Thursday in a public document that it intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange o on the Nasdaq. The filing did not reveal how much the company plans to raise in the initial public offering.

Although Didi says it operates in 15 countries, more than 93% of its sales come from China. For years, it has been the dominant shared transport service in the country, with some 377 million active users annually in China and 13 million active drivers.

Didi’s price in the US is remarkable amid the current tensions between the US and China. Many of China’s top tech companies are listed in New York, such as Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo, but the environment has become much more volatile. Over the past two years, an avalanche of Chinese companies listed on Wall Street have held secondary listings in Hong Kong in order to put down stronger roots closer to home, citing worsening regulatory hurdles.

Didi acknowledged the risks in his prospectus, writing that there have been “increased tensions in international economic relations.” He mentioned the disputes between the United States and China over trade, covid-19 and Hong Kong, among other issues.

“Such tensions between the United States and China, and any escalation of them, may have a negative impact on the general, economic, political and social conditions of China and, in turn, negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. operations, ”the company said.

– From Jill Disis and Pamela Boykoff

In Asia

• The Myanmar Military Junta charged deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi with corruption, adding to a series of court cases against which she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• At least nine people were killed when a five-story building in the process of being demolished collapsed on a bus in South Korea this Wednesday.
• A Afghan affiliate of ISIS he has claimed responsibility for an attack on the international demining charity Halo Trust, which left 10 dead and 16 injured on Tuesday in Afghanistan.
• The Asian drug cartels They quickly adapted to the 2020 pandemic, flooding markets with tens of billions of dollars worth of synthetic narcotics, even as the global economy stalled, according to a new United Nations report.

Uighurs live in ‘dystopian hell’, according to new Amnesty report

The human rights group Amnesty International has gathered what the organization says is new evidence of the widespread internment and torture of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang region, in China, in one of the most detailed reports ever produced on alleged human rights abuses by Beijing.

Based on interviews with more than 50 people detained in internment camps across the region, the 160-page report claims that there is a “factual basis” to conclude that the Chinese government is committing crimes against humanity.

Amnesty investigators accuse the Chinese government of imprisoning its citizens in violation of international law, as well as torturing and persecuting the mostly Muslim Uighur people in the region.

The testimonies of former detainees included in the report denounce beatings and harsh punishments for perceived minor offenses.

“The Chinese authorities have created a dystopian hell on an astonishing scale in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” said Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, in a statement after the report was released.

Callamard said Beijing’s alleged actions in Xinjiang should “shake the conscience of humanity.”

However, Amnesty fell short of calling Beijing’s actions in Xinjiang “genocide”, differentiating the organization from many Western governments, including the United States.

Beijing has repeatedly denied allegations of committing crimes against humanity, stating that its camps are “vocational training centers” designed to combat poverty and Islamic extremism in Xinjiang.

But in their report, Amnesty researchers say that the real goal of the Chinese government in Xinjiang is to erase the cultural and religious identity of minority groups in the region and instead “forcibly inculcate a secular and secular Chinese nation. homogeneous and the ideals of the Communist Party.

«Not a single person (in my town) can pray now. It is because the government is against religion. They are against Muslims, “a former detainee told Amnesty for his report.