A virtual meeting was held by G7 members on Feb. 19, prior to the G7 summit scheduled for June in Cornwall, United Kingdom. On the eve of the preparatory meeting for the annual G7, it can be seen from public reports and Chinese media rebuttals that China has moved to the top of the group’s agenda. As the presidency of the G7 this year, the UK is sending a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the host of the conference, called for a world pandemic treaty to ensure proper transparency and data sharing on Feb. 15. A Reuters reporter asked Johnson who he held responsible for the lack of transparency on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson replied: “I think it’s fairly obvious that most of the evidence seems to point to the disease having originated in Wuhan.” Johnson’s remarks sounded too frank and straightforward to the CCP.
Notably, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who proposed the amendment, stated on Feb. 12 in a debate, “I hope the Government will seek to put pressure on the World Health Organization to take this seriously.”
Marie Rimmer, Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, and Opposition Whip (Commons) said, “Our nation and the people who live here must not be complicit in the brutal acts of the Chinese Communist regime.” She stated that this amendment “sends a very clear message that we will not tolerate such appalling acts against humanity and that we will deliver for the people of China and not for the Communist Party of China. Let this amendment truly mount the beginning of a new relationship with China, a relationship that is not naive.”
In addition to the fact that the United Kingdom has shown significant strength in dealing with the CCP, there are at least two joint actions that the CCP should not underestimate.
On Feb. 15, Canada launched a 58 country initiative, including the United States, Japan, Britain, the European Union, to stop “Arbitrary Detention of Foreign Nationals.” The declaration does not target any nation. However, it is generally believed that it points right at the CCP and its media Global Times.
As early as Jan. 25, nearly 70 members of the G7 countries and the European Parliament signed an interparliamentary letter to the G7 heads of state calling on leaders of all countries to deal with the threat posed by the CCP.
“The letter addresses several key issues in which the G7 leaders should begin to cooperate in response to the actions of China. These areas range from international institutional reform, technology standards, human rights, the Indo-Pacific, and cooperation on COVID-19,” stated the press release.
The letter was led by U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez and Norbert Röttgen, Chair of the German Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee. According to the press release, “The threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party represent the greatest foreign policy challenges of our time,” said Gonzalez. “China’s selective approach to international law and its aggressive foreign policy in the Indo-Pacific as well as increasingly on a global scale, are the main challenges to the international order,” said Röttgen.
It has gradually become a global consensus that the CCP is the world’s biggest crisis. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo once pointed out in his speech on July 24, 2020: “Communists almost always lie. The biggest lie that they tell is to think that they speak for 1.4 billion people who are surveilled, depressed, and scared to speak out. Quite the contrary. The CCP fears the Chinese people’s honest opinions more than any foe, and save for losing their own grip on power, they have no reason to.” Pompeo also referred to the Chinese people as “a dynamic, freedom-loving people who are completely distinct from the Chinese Communist Party.”
He made two important points: “When it comes to the CCP, I say we must distrust and verify.” “Securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time.”
On the occasion of the upcoming G7 summit, it is important to remember Pompeo’s words.
