China says G-7 statement ‘full of arrogance, prejudice and lies’

BEIJING - China hit back on June 17 after Group of Seven (G-7) leaders warned Beijing to stop sending weapons components to Russia, saying their end-of-summit statement was “full of arrogance, prejudice and lies”.

When G-7 leaders met last week in Italy, souring trade relations with China as well as tensions over Ukraine and the South China Sea were a focus of their discussions.

The statement released at the end of the summit on June 14 criticised China on many of these issues.

It included an accusation against Beijing of sending dual-use materials to Russia, which it said were helping the war effort in Ukraine.

On June 17, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the statement had “slandered and attacked China”.

It had “rehashed cliches that have no factual basis, no legal basis, and no moral justification, and are full of arrogance, prejudice and lies”, he said at a regular press briefing.

The G-7 – made up of the US, Japan, France, Germany, Canada, Britain and Italy – had also taken aim at what it called “dangerous” incursions by China in the South China Sea.

Worries of a military escalation between China and its neighbours are rising, and on June 17, Philippine and Chinese vessels collided near the Second Thomas Shoal, according to the China Coast Guard.

“We oppose China’s militarisation, and coercive and intimidation activities in the South China Sea,” read the G-7 statement, using stronger language than at 2023’s summit in Japan.

Political tool

Coming the same week the European Union warned it was planning to impose new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the G-7 statement also referenced what it called “harmful overcapacity”.

The EU, which attends G-7 summits as an unofficial eighth partner, and others argue that generous subsidies by China, particularly in green energy sectors, risk flooding the global market with cheap goods.

“We express our concerns about China’s persistent industrial targeting and comprehensive non-market policies,” the G-7 statement said, citing “global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity” in multiple sectors.

China has repeatedly dismissed the concerns.

On June 17, Mr Lin said that G-7 “speculation” on overcapacity “completely deviates from the objective facts and economic laws, creates excuses for protectionism, and also undermines the efforts of global green and low-carbon transition and climate change cooperation”.

The G-7 “does not represent the international community”, he said, accusing it of being “a political tool for safeguarding the hegemony of the United States and the West”. AFP