“China has been playing cleverly. It’s only now that the G7 countries are fully waking up to the scale of the competitive challenge that China presents,” Prof Blaxland told CNA’s Asia First.
“(G7 states) are looking to protect their interests, without unduly complicating life for themselves. So de-risking, not decoupling, is definitely the best way of describing what they’re looking to do.”
At their three-day summit in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the grouping outlined “a disturbing rise in incidents of economic coercion that seek to exploit economic vulnerabilities” in a statement.
While the wordings did not mention China by name, Western leaders have been increasingly vocal about attempts by China to use its economic power in political disputes.
However, the communique also said that policy approaches “do not seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development”, but instead calls on Beijing to play by international rules.
Source: CNA
