May 6, 2021

With China topping the agenda of the Group of Seven (G7) meeting as foreign ministers of member states have been urged to coordinate and form a common stance in addressing the "challenges" posed by China, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected claims of a "Cold War" between the US and China, signaling that rather than making all-out efforts to form an anti-China choir, the Biden administration is making subtle moves to align its allies, Chinese experts said, noting that in return, EU officials' mixed signals on the ratification of its most promising investment deal appear to be a gesture of echoing the "alignment sentiment" in the face of growing domestic pressure.

The UK held the first face-to-face meeting of G7 foreign ministers this week since the COVID-19 pandemic began, during which China-related topics remained the major focus, despite Blinken clarifying ahead of the meeting that "it is not our purpose to try to contain China or to hold China down," the US Secretary of State was quoted as saying in a Reuters report. Blinken however further elaborated that the West would defend the international rules based order from subversive attempts by any country, including China. 

Apparently, during the three-day talks, which wrapped up on Wednesday Blinken sought to rope in allies to form a common front against China, but experts raised doubts whether tactics like a war of words embedded with "targeting China" or "blaming China" would really work when not only members of the G7 but also the US itself, need to work with Beijing on major global issues such as vaccine supplies, climate change, North Korea and Iran, experts said.

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202105/1222731.shtml