Tensions over China will be high on the agenda as top diplomats from Group of Seven nations meet over the next two days in Japan, according to a senior State Department official.<\/p>\n
Geopolitical challenges in Asia are set to come into greater focus now that Japan holds the rotating G-7 presidency, the official told reporters ahead of the foreign ministers\u2019 meeting, which comes about a month before U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders will head to Hiroshima for the annual leaders summit.<\/p>\n
Tensions over Taiwan in particular are demanding attention after China again held military drills around the island following President Tsai Ing-wen\u2019s meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Around the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron said the European Union should avoid being dragged into a dispute with China by the US, highlighting divisions within the bloc. <\/p>\n
Macron\u2019s courtship of President Xi Jinping, which included a state dinner and a rare visit outside the capital to the southern city of Guangzhou, contrasted with testy exchanges that marked German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock\u2019s trip to Beijing last week. In a joint briefing with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, she warned that a military escalation in the Taiwan Strait would be a \u201chorror scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josep Borrell, the European Union\u2019s foreign policy chief, sought to play down any differences of the bloc, telling reporters on Sunday that nations have the same approach even though they might use different terms like \u201cstrategic autonomy\u201d and \u201cderisking.\u201d The EU wishes to descalate tensions over Taiwan, he said, adding that any move to change the status quo by force is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf EU wants to speak the language of power, wants to be a political player and wants to be a new pole, then everything that happens everywhere in the world matters to us,\u201d Borrell said. \u201cIn the Taiwan Strait in particular, we have a specific interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who visited Beijing at the beginning of the month, said during a working dinner on Sunday that G-7 members should express concerns directly with China and urge its leaders to act as a responsible member of the international community, according to a statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe should continue to communicate with China and cooperate with them on global issues and areas of mutual interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Foreign ministers in Japan will compare notes from various recent visits to Beijing while seeking to find a common approach to the world\u2019s second-biggest economy on issues like Taiwan, human rights, economic coercion and US moves to restrict China\u2019s access to advanced technology like computer chips. <\/p>\n
G-7 foreign ministers will also discuss how to ensure Ukraine has weapons and other defensive equipment it needs over the long term, the State Department official said, noting that the meeting is occurring as Russian war efforts stall and ahead of a reported Ukrainian counteroffensive.<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Sunday with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu as the nations continued to strengthen strategic ties. Putin praised cooperation between the two militaries, highlighting exchanges of intelligence and joint maneuvers in Asia and Europe, the Interfax news service reported.<\/p>\n
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who scuttled a planned visit to Beijing after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over the US, downplayed concerns that leaks of highly classified information will stir distrust within the G-7. <\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the conversations I\u2019ve had, I have not heard anything that would affect our cooperation with allies and partners,\u201d Blinken told reporters in Hanoi on Saturday after holding meetings with senior Vientamese officials. He and other foreign ministers were set to arrive on Sunday to the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa for meetings through Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Besides China, the official said, foreign ministers will talk about North Korea and ways to deepen ties with Southeast Asian nations as well as the Quad, which includes the US, India, Japan and Australia.<\/p>\n
There will also be extended discussions on how the G-7 can spur more global infrastructure building in developing nations across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, the official said, adding that some announcements are planned for next month during the leaders\u2019 summit. <\/p>\n
The G-7 includes the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Canada and Italy. <\/p>\n
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