G7 leaders agree to new initiative to fight economic coercion

Leaders of the Group of Seven agreed on Saturday to establish a new initiative to counter economic coercion, and pledged to take steps to ensure that any actors attempting to weaponise economic dependence would fail and face consequences.

The initiative, dubbed Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion, will use early warning and rapid information sharing on economic coercion with members meeting regularly for consultations, the leaders said in a statement.

Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) nations will outline steps on Saturday aimed at reducing risks from China while preserving economic ties, a day after they agreed to ramp up sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

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The heads of government of the world's richest democracies are grappling with the challenges posed by China and Russia at a three-day summit in the deeply symbolic Japanese city of Hiroshima.

In a draft of the final communique seen by Reuters, G7 leaders agreed that China's status as the world's second-largest economy meant they had to continue to cooperate.

"We do not seek to thwart China's economic progress and development," the leaders said in the draft, which is subject to change.

China has voiced concern that the summit would turn into a "political show" against Beijing. China's embassy in Tokyo issued a statement on the eve of the summit expressing grave concerns about recent signs of "negative" China-related moves at the G7 meeting.

Reuters