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On Sunday, the leaders of the major Western economies of the G7 will support Western competitors to join China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and plan to mobilize billions of dollars to help developing countries deal with climate change.
Joe Biden took the lead in calling for new sources of infrastructure financing for poor countries and a “democratic” alternative to Chinese loans, which was seen in the West as a tool for spreading Beijing’s influence.
Leader in G7 summit Cornwall will agree to what the summit host Boris Johnson’s allies call the “Green Belt and Road” plan, and rich countries will help fund plans to reduce carbon emissions.
Johnson hopes to focus on supporting the green initiative and has been cautiously describing the initiative as an “anti-China” effort. British officials said they hope G7 can “show what we support, not who we oppose.”
But the White House is in favor of broader infrastructure support and Already clear About wanting to fight against China’s influence.
A British official said: “Our focus is slightly narrower.”
On Saturday, the leaders of the Group of Seven countries held talks to coordinate China’s strategy. An official who listened to the briefing of the talks said: “It is generally agreed that we should cooperate with Beijing on issues such as climate change, global supply chain competition, and human rights issues.”
The “Rebuild a Better World” plan will allow countries to better finance low-carbon projects such as wind farms and railways.
The plan aims to increase climate funding from multilateral development banks and the private sector, and is called the “Green Marshall Plan” by some officials, but on a smaller scale.
The leaders of the Group of Seven are expected to commit to increasing their contribution to international climate finance. This will help them achieve the set goal of raising US$100 billion from rich countries every year to help poor countries support green growth.
However, an official who watched the discussion said: “The details on how to achieve this goal are short.”
A senior US official said on Friday: “The United States and many of our partners and friends around the world have long been skeptical of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.”
“We have seen the Chinese government show a lack of transparency, poor environment and labor standards, and practices that make many countries worse off.”
“But until now, we have not provided a positive alternative that reflects our values, standards and business methods.”
China criticized the statements made by the United States and other members of the G7, believing that “true multilateralism” is based on the United Nations, rather than “so-called rules formulated by a few countries.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said: “Gone are the days when global decisions were made by a few countries.”
Earlier on Saturday, Yang Jiechi, China’s top foreign policy official, responded to international condemnation of Beijing’s violation of human rights in Xinjiang and the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Yang Jiechi said: “The US has fabricated all kinds of lies about Xinjiang in an attempt to undermine the stability and unity of Xinjiang and confuse right and wrong, which is extremely absurd.”
Environmental groups criticized the lack of detail in the financing and operation of the plan, leading some to warn that it was nothing more than an empty promise.
Climate change is one of the G7 leaders’ top priorities at the summit, but leaders are working to reach an agreement on funding. Only Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy are expected to announce new climate funding in Cornwall.
G7 leaders will promise to phase out gasoline and diesel vehicles as soon as possible, and close all coal-fired power plants that do not use emission capture technology. They will also pledge to protect 30% of the earth’s land and sea by 2030.
With the UK hosting the COP26 climate summit in November, the summit in Cornwall this weekend is expected to be Provide preview How will the world’s largest industrialized democracies respond to the climate crisis on the international stage?
Johnson said: “The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to promote the global green industrial revolution, and it is possible to change our way of life.”
However, several climate organizations were unmoved, saying that the “Rebuild Better” plan seemed vague and weak.
“We still don’t know the timetable or scale of these announcements. Without these, these are just empty promises,” said Catherine Petenger, the interim head of the UK Climate Action Network.
People familiar with this process say that the UK is Late Attempt to integrate its green infrastructure plan. An official who watched the G7 deliberations stated that Johnson once seemed to have confused the names of various plans.
All G7 countries are committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, making climate policy an area of ??broad consensus. But disagreements over issues such as coal and climate financing donations have led to difficult negotiations on the final language of the leaders’ communiqué.
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