China hits back at G7 summit; says days of 'small' group of countries dictating global decisions are long gone

Beijing, Jun 13 (PTI) China on Sunday asserted that days when a "small" group of countries decided fate of world are long gone, hitting back at leers of powerful G-7 bloc who took a unified position on Beijing on issues like COVID-19 origins, human rights violations and its mega Belt and Ro Initiative.

As leers of G-7 -- Cana, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States -- met in Cornwall in England where US President Joe Biden me a strong bid to rally allies against China’s growing economic clout, human rights besides its reluctance to agree for a probe into COVID-19 origin, Beijing appeared defiant and firm, questioning relevance of bloc.

Sunday's call for a new study on origins of COVID-19 came weeks after Biden said he h directed US intelligence community to redouble ir efforts in investigating origins of pandemic and report to him in 90 days.

Biden's announcement came after a US intelligence report found several researchers at central China's Wuhan Institute of Virology h fallen ill in November 2019 and h to be hospitalised. This new detail has led to fresh public pressure on Biden to probe deeper into origin of dely virus that has wrecked global economy and killed over 3,797,000 people globally, including more than 599,600 people in US.

While re is no direct response by Chinese government here in Beijing, state-run Global Times quoted statement issued by China’s Embassy in London, rebutting G-7 criticism against Beijing.

Answering a question on issues covered by G-7 Summit on pandemic response, economy, tre and global supply chains and US efforts to “seizing” opportunity to bond with or Western countries to safeguard “rules-based international system”, Chinese embassy statement said re is only one system, international system, which is led by UN.

"We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are equals, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries," it said.

" days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone," it said.

"re is only one system and one order in world, that is, international system with United Nations at core and international order based on international law, not so-called system and order vocated by a handful of countries," it ded.

To anor question that an announcement will be me at G7 summit on provision of one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to countries in need, statement listed about what China has done including providing free vaccines to more than 80 developing countries exporting vaccines to 43 countries.

"We have delivered 350 million doses to global partners, more than any or country in world," it said.

"China is fully implementing G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries and has so far deferred repayment of more than USD 1.3 billion worth of debt. This is highest deferral amount among G20 members,” it said.

While Biden’s efforts making heway to forge a consensus with or G-7 and EU countries came as a surprise to China, analysts here cautioned Beijing about US successfully pushing its Build Back Better World (B3W) plan to counter Beijing’s multibillion dollar Belt and Ro Initiative (BRI).

BRI, a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013, aims to link Souast Asia, Central Asia, Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea route.

Commenting on B3W, Shi Yinhong, a US relations specialist at Beijing’s Renmin University, said that US plan was "not good news for China".

"All of stated goals of B3W, described as a values-driven, transparent and sustainable infrastructure partnership, are obviously targeting China," Shi told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Sunday.

plan's unveiling comes as Biden ministration reviews its China policy and steps up its alliance-based strategy to push back against China’s diplomatic and military assertiveness and alleged abuses over Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

It also comes as US economy bounces back from recession, with United States and Britain making big gains in controlling pandemic, Post report said.

Shi said infrastructure plan and US efforts to unite allies to confront China were basis of emerging Biden doctrine, which was essentially about winning competition with China and showcasing superiority of democratic system.

While it remained to be seen how major Western powers would frame threats from China, divisions between Washington and its allies should not be overstated, said Pang Zhongying, an international affairs expert at Ocean University of China.

"This year’s G-7 summit is of particular importance to Western democracies because it is happening at a critical time when y have to work toger to dress China challenge in middle of an arduous campaign to seek economic recovery and overcome coronavirus crisis,” he said.

Pang said Beijing should refrain from jumping to hasty conclusions that everything at summit was about containing China.

"It is true that US-led efforts will pose challenges to China, but it is equally important for Beijing to continue its efforts to improve ties with some of US allies to avoid slipping into a new Cold War," Pang said. PTI KJV ZH AKJ AKJ