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As G7 diplomats shouted "unity" at their gathering in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa, rifts in the West remain.
Keen to demonstrate a unified front, G7 ministers stressed the need to stand up to any Chinese "coercion," any market manipulation, and any efforts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Straits. The louder G7 ministers shout "unity" and the harder they try to demonstrate their "solidarity" by acting unanimously outwards, the deeper the divergences they are facing from within and the more ostensible their alliance is.
As the only superpower after the Cold War, the U.S. has been pressuring allies to act in accordance with Washington's will and requiring a unified stance on countries that Washington views as rivals. This, without denial, is sacrificing allies' interests for U.S. hegemony. With more players emerging on the world arena, American allies want more autonomy to choose a path that is in their countries' – not Washington's – best interests. Divergences have thus emerged and ties exacerbated.
French President Emmanuel Macron was straightforward on the current quagmire the EU is now in. "Being an ally (with the U.S.) does not mean being a vassal… does not mean that we don't have the right to think for ourselves," Macron made the comments following his state visit to China this April, cautioning that France should not be caught up in an escalation between Washington and Beijing.
Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora (2nd L), British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly (3rd L), German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (4th L), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (5th L), Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (5th R), Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly (4th R), French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna (3rd R), Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani (2nd R) and two Japanese local officials (1st L, 1st R) pose for a group photo during a welcome ceremony at the Karuizawa station of shinkansen train in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, April 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
Demonstrating "unity" at the G7 gathering does not mean there is real solidarity. While the U.S. and Japan have been acting recklessly over the Taiwan question to push forward their own agendas, European countries reap no benefits from conflicts in the region. The U.S., a country that has thrived on its military-industrial complex, is happy to fuel tensions across the world so as to sell more weapons. The Japanese government has been taking advantage of the Taiwan question to justify its attempt to rid the country of institutional restrictions on militarism.
But European countries have no will to see their mutually beneficial economic ties with the world's second largest economy be ruined by conflicts in the region, and thus hope to retain the status quo across the Taiwan Straits. However, Washington has been repeatedly provoking the Chinese government on the Taiwan question, with the latest episode being its House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's meeting with the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen in April. While European countries made it clear they don't want to change the status quo, Washington has been acting the other way round.
To drive its European allies into its bandwagon, the U.S. has been trying to depict the Asia-Pacific as a region with instability, and accuse China's "coercion" as the culprit. Japan, with its own political agenda in mind, has been ready to make a fuss about the Taiwan question. But G7 diplomats' "unified" voice does not mean their unified stance on the question.
Washington, for decades, has been manipulating every possible means – including the G7 platform – to drag Europe into a vanguard that confronts countries it deems as enemies. G7 was established to strengthen coordination on issues of global concerns. But the U.S. has been trying to turn the platform into a U.S. club, requiring other nations to follow orders from Washington.
Now, with representatives of G7 declining on the global arena, calls for more strategic autonomy are increasingly heard in Europe. The total contribution of G7 nations to global economic growth is less than that of China alone from 2013 to 2021, according to the World Bank.
Shouting "unity" and "solidarity," American allies have their wisdom to make the right choice between being a vassal of Washington and seeking independence in developing foreign relations.
