What's next for G7, China and the world?
The G7 is, ostensibly, the backyard of the world's most dominant nations, where they gather every year to discuss world matters. The 47th G7 summit, which took place in England during mid-June was the latest gathering of the bloc. The main discussions were made undoubtedly regarding the central theme of the last year-and-a-half - Covid 19. However, the real spotlight was on the responses to the rising world superpower of the eastern hemisphere, China.
From their perspective, prosperity and geopolitical presence define the G7's superiority over the rest of the world. Scholars and journalists have, in addition, agreed that G7 nations also have something else in common, which are democratic governments and capitalist-based economies. These particular political traits distinguish them from their counterparts, authoritarian states. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia and China kept on strengthening a controlled market, but the Chinese hunger for more power has seemed not to cease. The nation’s GDP grew by over 8% in 2021 - a stable growth rate during recovery periods after Covid-19 hits. The rising Chinese dominance has ruined the party of so-called world leaders, sowing fear and threatening the order of the free world. Huge global projects such as the Belt and Road Initiatives or the Made in China 2025 have already disturbed the trading system by creating a better trade route, infrastructure-wise. This surely has gotten on America’s nerve as its previous leader, Donald Trump, declared a trade war in response to the growth of domestic unemployment. The situation in Europe was not any better as its steel industry was heavily dependent on Indonesian Chinese-backed firms. Beijing’s hunger for power has never been larger and could the latest G7 gathering be the last occasion where it remained relevant?
G7 leaders at the roundtable meeting on Day One of the Carbis Bay summit
The Chinese response to the 47th G7 summit was simple: “small groups do not rule the world”. A direct message to those that fail to acknowledge or deny the existence of the overwhelming power of the state. From the day the statement was issued by the Chinese embassy in London, it has become legitimate to believe that more extreme and, perhaps, radical decisions, made by President Xi and the ruling communist party, will soon be in place. The availability of massive economic resources allows China to finance even the craziest of its leaders' demands. In the upcoming decade, more Chinese technology firms are on their way to become multi-national, this poses a threat for other large business firms such as Apple, even if their supply chain is ultimately transferred to Southeast Asia. With their own trade routes in place, imports arriving in Europe are also getting more expensive as Beijing will be in charge of prices and transportation fees.
Ongoing ignorance from the world’s wealthiest nations can ultimately cost them consequences ranging from losing trade contracts, manufacturers, to even losing geopolitical influence in Africa. Ever since Joe Biden grasped hold of the White House, major changes in Washington’s policies against China have yet to be seen. We have put faith in the Biden administration to manipulate Beijing’s growth but the pandemic seemed to be the more demanding priority in the “land of the free’’ right now. Distributing and persuading people to get vaccinated seemed to be the main priorities in the US and Europe proving the current status quo.
With additional mutations being added to the list, the virus is getting increasingly hard to control and it is getting clearer that Covid-19 is not going anywhere in the near future. As a result, if you are looking forward to reading the updates on the current trade drama between China and the G7, I would suggest you find something to binge on first since the next ‘meaty’ parts of the story will not be aired soon.