On Wednesday 5 May, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Japan) and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy emphasised their concerns about China and Russia in a joint statement.
“We are deeply concerned about Russia’s continued irresponsible and destabilising behaviour”, says the G7, which nevertheless reaffirms its interest in a stable and predictable relationship with Moscow. “We will continue to strengthen our collective capabilities and those of our partners to confront and deter Russia’s behaviour, which threatens the rules-based international order, including in the areas of cyberspace security and disinformation”, the ministers warned, continuing to engage with the country on regional and global challenges of common concern.
Regarding China, the ministers stress their concern about human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet and China’s decision “to fundamentally erode the democratic elements of the electoral system in Hong Kong”. They call on Beijing to assume and fulfil obligations and responsibilities commensurate with its global economic role, participate constructively in the rules-based international system, and live up to China’s commitments to acting responsibly in cyberspace.
Read the statement: https://bit.ly/3h0Bdeq (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)