By Chen Tianhao
(ECNS) -- Among plenty of protesters who took to the streets, the Group of Seven (G7) nations concluded their three-day gathering in Hiroshima in Japan in late May. The G7 Hiroshima Leaders' Communiqué (hereinafter referred to as the G7 Communiqué) as well as the controversial topics discussed during the Summit have triggered heightened alarm in many countries.
As Linjie Chou Zanadu, senior research fellow at the European Center for Peace and Development has pointed out, G7 has transformed into a containment machine for countries like China and Russia, and also a post-colonial project aiming to guard the interest of Western powers.
Outdated agenda
In Chou's view, what G7 does doesn't reflect the changing nature of globalization, and its mission, which is to promote the interests of advanced economies, has never been changed. In addition, he revealed that G7 nations intentionally exclude other economies, such as Russia, that are not 100 percent in line with the Western ideological camp. Therefore, its aim is highly ideological, making G7 now an ultra-neo-liberal institution.
On a press conference held on May 22, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, who was invited to attend the G7 meetings, has condemned the U.S. President Joe Biden's support for Ukraine, citing that it is meaningless to the world peace.
Chou said that Ukraine has received much defense equipment and finances from the West, which derives from the hard-earned money from the average taxpayers of the G7 countries.
UK is with an inflation rate around four times of the healthy level, he explained, while Western countries including the U.S. are still squandering on Ukraine despite the high inflation, rent and food prices at home.
Reuters has quoted two U.S. officials that the U.S. plans to announce up to $300 million worth of military aid for Ukraine comprised mainly of ammunition. Britain would also be sending Ukraine armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium.
Chou noted that what these countries do fueled the resentment by many, and people are fed up with neo-liberal elites and their showman business.
Unbridgeable internal gap
Before the G7 Hiroshima Summit, Western media had been hyping the so-called "China Threat". U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen even claimed that the U.S. and allies could take action to counter China's "economic coercion". The G7 Communiqué also states that the economic resilience requires "de-risking and diversifying".
Chou pointed out that the so-called "de-risking" concept is created by the Anglo-Saxon spin doctors, and he also believes that "decoupling" also applies within the G7 countries. It means that there is also the possibility of a breakdown within the G7.
Chou further explained that within the G7, the U.K. and the U.S. hold certain disagreement with France, Germany and Italy. For the U.K. and the U.S., only the functionality matters. Their proclaimed value is only a way for controlling other economies and resources. Not even G7 members have been spared from U.S. economic coercion and bullying. Companies such as Toshiba from Japan, Siemens from Germany and Alstom from France, were all victims of U.S. suppression.
But France, Germany and Italy have more experience in dealing with other civilizations based on the cultural and intellectual exchanges and dialogues, Chou thinks. He also suggests that the continental European powers try to maintain the strategic autonomy outside the Anglo-Saxon mechanism. Just as French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier in an interview, "Europe must not be a 'follower' of the U.S." And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz demonstrated his opinion in an article that “China's rise does not warrant isolating China or curbing cooperation.”
Chou concluded that in the past few years, G7 has transformed into a containment machine for other countries. Behind the ideological aspect, G7 is still a post-colonial project aiming to guard the interest of Western powers, which is highly racist. And the G7 Communiqué also lays bare its ambition to further divide the world.
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