Summary of key events
- Boris Johnson escalated his dispute with the European Union by warning he will do whatever it takes to keep goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
- The United States is back as a cooperative leader of the free world under President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday, illustrating the relief felt by many key US allies that the tumult of Donald Trump’s presidency is over. Macron’s remarks echoes that of British prime minister Boris Johnson who hailed Biden on Thursday as “a big breath of fresh air”
- The head of the World Trade Organization said on Saturday she hoped that post-Brexit tensions between Britain and the European Union would not escalate into a trade war.
- The US plans to push democratic allies on Saturday to publicly call out China for forced labour practices as the G7 leaders gathers at a summit where they will also unveil an infrastructure plan meant to compete with Beijing’s efforts in the developing world.
- The Group of Seven rich nations will announce on Saturday a new global infrastructure plan as a response to China’s belt and road initiative, a senior official in the US president Joe Biden’s administration said.The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US would also push the other G7 leaders for “concrete action on forced labour” in China, and to include criticism of Beijing in their final communique.
The head of the World Trade Organization said there was a pathway for a global deal to get more Covid-19 vaccines to developing countries, despite a split over whether drug firms should be stripped of their intellectual property rights.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, speaking to reporters before joining discussions among leaders of the Group of Seven nations, said she was hopeful there would be more clarity on the way ahead for the IP waiver issue by July.
“It may be difficult because some of the positions, maybe, are a little bit far apart, but there is a pathway,” she said. “I would very much like to see some form of progress by July.”
WTO members agreed on Wednesday to start formal talks on a plan to boost Covid-19 vaccine supply to developing countries but the battle lines are drawn for tough negotiations.
Protesters who took to the water in Cornwall for a marine protest have said G7 leaders need to take “radical action” to save the world’s seas.
According to organisers Surfers Against Sewage, more than 1,000 people joined the demonstration on the sea at Gyllyngvase Beach near Falmouth, less than an hour’s drive from Carbis Bay where the G7 summit is being held.
Surfers, kayakers, and swimmers gathered in the sea carrying placards calling on world leaders to “save our seas”, while a giant inflatable shark even joined the display.
Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, told the PA news agency: “We’ve seen in the pandemic that they can mobilise huge amounts of money and collaborate to create vaccines in just a year.
“But they need to act with the same urgency for nature, biodiversity, and ecological crisis.
“Now’s the time for radical action - business as usual is killing planet ocean.”
Tagholm, from Truro in Cornwall, said the support at Gyllyngvase Beach shows “how much love there is” for the ocean and the fight against ecological decline.
The 46-year-old said governments need to act by protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, cut plastic waste, and put a halt to the damage caused by the fishing industry.
Boris Johnson escalated his dispute with the European Union by warning he will do whatever it takes to keep goods flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Following talks with the EU’s key figures, the Prime Minister said he would not hesitate to take unilateral action to protect the position of Northern Ireland in the increasingly bitter row over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The prime minister met French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel in the margins of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
But Johnson appeared frustrated at the way the talks had gone, saying: “I’ve talked to some of our friends here today who do seem to misunderstand that the UK is a single country and a single territory.
“I think they just need to get that into their heads.”
Johnson insisted he did not want a trade war with Brussels, which has threatened to retaliate unless the UK imposes restrictions agreed as part of the Brexit deal signed by Johnson.
The row - dubbed the “sausage war” - could mean chilled meats will not be shipped across the Irish Sea because of EU rules after the end of the month.
The UK is considering extending the current grace period without the consent of Brussels to ensure that sausages and mince can continue to reach Northern Ireland’s shops.
The prime minister told Sky News he would do “whatever it takes”, including using Article 16 of the protocol to act without Brussels’ agreement.
A pub on the harbour at St Ives has temporarily stopped serving food and drink after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. The Lifeboat Inn has kept its rooms open.
St Austell Brewery, which owns the pub, told the Guardian: “We can confirm that a member of our team at the Lifeboat Inn has tested positive and a number of our team are self-isolating.
“We have taken the decision to temporarily close our food and drink offering at the site as a result of the reduced staff capacity. Guest rooms remain open and we continue our extensive measures to keep everybody safe, including staff testing, regular cleaning practices, social distancing and face coverings in all public areas.”
A hotel in St Ives owned by the brewery, Pedn Olva, closed temporarily earlier this week after a number of staff tested positive. It said: “The hotel will reopen once a full Covid-19 deep clean has taken place and we have the available staff to run it.”
Two police officers involved in the security operation have also tested positive.
The United States is back as a cooperative leader of the free world under President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday, illustrating the relief felt by many key US allies that the tumult of Donald Trump’s presidency is over.
Macron’s remarks echoes that of British prime minister Boris Johnson who hailed Biden on Thursday as “a big breath of fresh air”.
Neither Macron nor Johnson drew an explicit parallel between Biden and Trump, though both praised Biden’s distinctly cooperative tone and officials said there was relief after Trump at times shocked and bewildered many European allies, Reuters reports.
Biden, asked by a reporter if America was back, turned to Macron and gestured with his sunglasses towards the French president that he should answer that question.
“Yes definitely,” Macron said. “It’s great to have a US president who’s part of the club and very willing to cooperate.”
“What you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership,”Macron told Biden as they sat on an outdoor terrace with a sweeping view of the turquoise sea behind them.
Biden agreed and said: “The United States, I’ve said before, we’re back. Things are going, I think, well, and we’re, as we say back in the States, we’re on the same page.”
Biden added that the US felt very strongly about the cohesion of the NATO military alliance and expressed support for the European Union – the target of much criticism from Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency.
He said:
I for one think that the European Union is an incredibly strong and vibrant entity, that has a lot to do with the ability of Western Europe not only to handle its economic issues but provide the backbone and support for NATO.
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The US president, Joe Biden, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, are attending a bilateral meeting with their advisers during the G7 summit in Cornwall.
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Although there have been discussions about post-Brexit trade deals and other issues, the main business of the summit today will be the leaders discussing building resilience to future crises, considering foreign policy and then deciding on their response to Covid-19.
The group will commit to a new plan – the Carbis Bay declaration – to quash future pandemics within the first 100 days, while the UK is creating a new animal vaccine centre aimed at preventing future diseases crossing to humans, PA news reports.
As part of Boris Johnson’s “Global Britain” agenda, the leaders of South Korea, India, Australia and South Africa will also take part in summit events, expanding the G7 to take in other prominent democracies.
Those leaders attending the event – India’s Narendra Modi is participating remotely because of the coronavirus crisis in his country – will have a beach barbecue, toasting marshmallows around fire pits.
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In a clear dig about the former US president Donald Trump, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has praised Joe Biden, saying he is willing to cooperate and lead during a meeting at the G7 summit.
Asked whether America was back, Biden turned to Macron and said the French leader should be asked that question.
“Yes definitely,” Macron said.
“It’s great to have a US president who’s part of the club and very willing to cooperate,” Macron said. “What you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership”
French President Emmanuel Macron to Joe Biden: “What we need is cooperation. I think it’s great to have a US President who is part of the club.”
— Amy Tarkanian (@MrsT106) June 12, 2021
I don’t know about you, but I thought an American President is supposed to LEAD, not be “part of the club”.
Of course, Biden nods. pic.twitter.com/RjzwwLQ8No
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France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, and the US president, Joe Biden, are speaking to the press ahead of a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit.
.@POTUS meets with @EmmanuelMacron. pic.twitter.com/dFClSSMaMs
— Meghan Hays (@MegHays46) June 12, 2021
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About 200 people have marched through the town of Hayle, near Carbis Bay, to take part in a “Resist G7” protest.
The group included members of CND and the Stop the War coalition, trade unionists, supporters of Palestine and Kashmir and anarchists.
They met on the quayside and processed through the town and on to the beach. The march was delayed as they waited for a members of the Kashmiri community who were travelling to Cornwall from Derby. Organisers said they had been stopped by police on the way down.
There was frustration from the protestors that they were so far away – more than a mile – from Carbis Bay but a ring of steel means they cannot get nearer.
The same coalition is planning a “Kill the Bill” march in the area on Sunday.
Prof Clare Saunders, an expert in environmental protests from the University of Exeter who is observing activists in Cornwall, said: “Protests organised by networks and organisations so far have been friendly and open to all. There is a real community, festival-type atmosphere.
“It looks like the lack of public transport in Cornwall has helped create a sense of community between protestors. Rather than relying on trains or buses many are getting lifts together in cars, and I think this is helping to create a friendly atmosphere.”
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Boris Johnson has warned Brussels he will not hesitate to take unilateral measures to protect the position of Northern Ireland in the increasingly bitter row over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The prime minister met key players from the EU side in the margins in the G7 summit as wrangling over the Northern Ireland protocol threatened to overshadow his hosting of the international gathering.
While Downing Street characterised the discussions as “constructive”, Johnson complained that some of the leaders failed to understand the UK was a single country. “I just need to get that into their heads,” he said.
He warned that unless there was a solution, he would invoke Article 16 of the protocol, which allows either side to take unilateral action if its implementation were to lead to “serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties”.
His comments followed a series of talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron; the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel; the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and the European Council leader, Charles Michel.
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The head of the World Trade Organization said on Saturday she hoped that post-Brexit tensions between Britain and the European Union would not escalate into a trade war.
“I would really, really hope that a UK-EU trade war will not take place,” the WTO director general, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said in response to a question when speaking to reporters covering the G7 summit in south-west England.
“With all the opportunities there are too for dialogue, I would be a little surprised if we ended up with a UK-EU trade war,” she said. “It’s too costly for both sides. This is not what the world needs right now.”
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Boris Johnson has said the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus is a matter of “serious, serious concern” as he prepares to put lockdown lifting on hold.
The prime minister is expected to announce a delay of up to four weeks in the final easing of restrictions in England which had been due to take place on 21 June under the government’s road map.
Speaking during the G7 summit in Cornwall, he insisted that no decisions had been taken ahead of a formal announcement on Monday.
However he made clear that there had been a deterioration in the situation, with a surge in cases of the Delta variant – first detected in India – since the start of the month.
“It’s clear that the Indian variant is more transmissible and it’s also true that the cases are going up, and that the levels of hospitalisation are going up,” he told Sky News.
“Now, we don’t know exactly to what extent that is going to feed through into extra mortality, but clearly it’s a matter of serious, serious concern.”
Asked if he was less optimistic now than he was at the end of May, he said: “Yes, that’s certainly fair.
“What we want to do is make sure that the road map is irreversible, but you can’t have an irreversible road map unless you’re prepared to be cautious.
“Some of the data is still open to question, but we’ll be making an announcement on Monday.”
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Sky’s political editor, Beth Rigby, asked Boris Johnson about comments he once made saying there would be a border in the Irish Sea “over my dead body”, and he said the EU understand “the strength of our feeling on this”.
He added: “I think [the Northern Ireland] protocol can work if it’s sensibly applied but at the moment it’s not just a question of chilled meats or sausages, there are all kinds of impediments being constructed, And we need to sort it out. I think we can sort it out.”
Rigby also asked Johnson about the Delta variant of coronavirus delaying lockdown, over which the government has said it will make a decision on Monday.
Johnson said: “It’s clear the Indian variant is more transmissible and it’s also true the cases are going up and that the levels of hospitalisation are going up.
“Now we don’t know to what extent that exactly is going to feed through into extra mortality but, clearly it’s a matter of serious, serious concern,” he added.
He said that the country would not go back to a full lockdown and that “the whole point of having an irreversible roadmap is just that – to make it irreversible.”
“To do that, as I’ve said repeatedly, you have to be cautious and where it’s necessary to be cautious we will do so.”
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Rising Covid case numbers and hospitalisations are a matter of “serious, serious concern”, Boris Johnson said on Saturday, adding he was less optimistic about reopening the country than he was last month.
“It’s clear that the Indian variant is more transmissible and it’s also true that the cases are going up, and that the levels of hospitalisation are going up,” the prime minister told Sky News.
“Now, we don’t know exactly to what extent that is going to feed through into extra mortality, but clearly it’s a matter of serious, serious concern.”
Johnson is expected to set out on Monday whether a planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England can go ahead on 21 June, or whether rising cases will force it to be delayed.
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A second police officer involved in the security operation around the G7 summit in Cornwall has tested positive for Covid.
Devon and Cornwall’s police told the Guardian on Saturday: “As part of our testing regime, we have identified one officer who is currently supporting G7 policing who has tested positive for Covid-19 following a PCR test on 11 June.”
The officer is one of the 5,000 from forces outside Devon and Cornwall who have arrived to help the local police. He was not staying on the cruise ship MS Silja Europa, which is housing 1,000 officers.
A police spokesperson said: “The officer, plus a further five officers who have come into close contact, will be repatriated back to their host force where they will enter into a period of self-isolation as per the advice of Public Health England.
“We can confirm that those affected were not staying on the ferry. We wish them a speedy recovery and thank them for their support to this operation.”
On Friday police said one officer who had been billeted on the ship tested positive. That positive led to 11 other officers having to isolate.
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Hundreds of surfers, kayakers, swimmers and paddle boarders took to the sea off Falmouth for a mass “paddle out” calling on world leaders to put ocean health at the heart of the G7 summit.
Organisers of the mass “paddle out”, Cornish-based Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), said demonstrators hoped to drive home the need for urgent action by governments in the face of the global climate emergency.
Surfers from all over the UK gathered on Gyllyngvase beach in brilliant sunshine, some unfurling banners demanding: “Save our seas” while others chanted: “Climate action, now!” and: “Do not let or planet die”. A giant inflatable shark warned about the issue of sea life-consuming discarded plastic.
Rhi Westcott, 38, a surfer who traveled from Cheltenham, Glos, to join the demonstration, said: “Protecting our oceans is something millions of us feel very strongly about. Today is about sending a message to governments that the world demands action, that helping to better protect our oceans and the environment is paramount.”
Hugo Tagholm, the chief executive of SAS, said: “SAS is bringing together hundreds of ocean activists and supporters who are calling for great protection of our oceans.
“We’ve got world leaders, down the coastline in Carbis Bay, discussing how we’re going to emerge from the pandemic greener and more sustainable and the ocean needs to be central to that. We have to put the ocean at the heart of climate action.”
SAS is calling on G7 leaders to:
Stop damaging the ccean
- Ban destructive extraction of ocean resources.
- Unite to regulate ocean pollution.
Protect, manage and restore the ocean
- Expand effective ocean protection, management and restoration of people, biodiversity and climate.
- Catalyse and coordinate action on ocean, carbon, and climate.
Lead a decade of global ocean action
- Prioritise ocean nature-based solutions and support ocean science.
- Close the gaps in ocean governance and finance.
- Mainstream ocean education.
What a turn out!! Thank to you everyone who made it to Gylly today for the G7 paddle out protest ✊🌏🙌 “what do we want?” “ocean action”… “when do we want it?”…
— Surfers Against Sewage (@sascampaigns) June 12, 2021
NOW!!!! https://t.co/5UVWjYfvO3
Amazing turnout for @sascampaigns “save our oceans” call to action #G7Cornwall https://t.co/eM6kESobpX
— Sanj Srikanthan (@SanjSrikanthan) June 12, 2021
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Environmental protest groups have gathered in Cornwall as the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, hosts leaders from the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada at the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay.
They are calling for stronger action to tackle the climate crisis.
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The White House says Joe Biden will hold a solo news conference after meeting the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The two delegations will have a working session and a smaller session as part of their meeting. But the White House says it is still finalising the format of the meeting.
The White House says a news conference with only Biden is the appropriate format to communicate the topics discussed, areas of agreement, and sources of significant concern.
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The Carbis Bay declaration will set out the steps G7 countries will take to prevent a future pandemic. These include slashing the time taken to develop and license vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to fewer than 100 days, a commitment to reinforce global surveillance networks and genomic sequencing capacity and support for reforming and strengthening the World Health Organization.
To stop animal-borne diseases before they put people at risk, the UK will establish a UK animal vaccine manufacturing and innovation centre at the Pirbright Institute in Surrey.
The centre will draw on Pirbright’s world-leading expertise to accelerate the delivery of vaccines for livestock diseases. These diseases pose a risk to people if they mutate to become transmissible to humans and can devastate agriculture in the UK and internationally. The UK has contributed £10m of funding for the centre.
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “In the last year the world has developed several effective coronavirus vaccines, licensed and manufactured them at pace and is now getting them into the arms of the people who need them.
“But to truly defeat coronavirus and recover we need to prevent a pandemic like this from ever happening again. That means learning lessons from the last 18 months and doing it differently next time around.
The Carbis Bay declaration will be agreed upon by leaders today and published tomorrow alongside the G7 Summit Communique.
Dr Tedros Adhanom, the director-general of the World Health Organization, said: “We welcome the Carbis Bay health declaration, particularly as the world begins to recover and rebuild from the Covid-19 pandemic. Together we need to build on the significant scientific and collaborative response to the Covid-19 pandemic and find common solutions to address many of the gaps identified.”
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G7 leaders will sign an agreement on Saturday aimed at ensuring an outbreak like Covid can never happen again.
The Carbis Bay declaration will include commitments to step up research into zoonotic diseases, which jump from animals to humans. The UK will establish an animal vaccine manufacturing and innovation centre at the Pirbright Institute in Surrey, expected to be up and running next year.
The G7 leaders will be joined by the Indian, South Korean, Australian and South African delegations – attending the G7 at the UK’s invitation – for their discussions about health.
They will be shown a presentation by the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, and Melinda French Gates on the work of the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership, a group of international experts advising the G7 on detecting and preventing future outbreaks.
Their recommendations include cutting the time taken to develop and license vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to less than 100 days, and reinforcing global surveillance networks to identify and track new pandemic threats.
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Downing Street has said that EU leaders have agreed to carry on talking to find a resolution to the problems over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Following Boris Johnson’s talks at the G7 summit in Cornwall, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “In all cases, they agreed that they needed to continue discussions on this and to continue talking to try to find a way through.
“The prime minister’s desire currently is to work within the existing protocol to find radical changes and pragmatic solutions. That is our immediate focus. We keep all options on the table.
“What we are seeking is a solution. Currently as implemented, the protocol is having a damaging impact on the people of Northern Ireland. We need to find urgent and innovative solutions.”
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Boris Johnson has called for “compromise on all sides” over the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister held meetings with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and with the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and European council president, Charles Michel, at the G7 summit in Cornwall.
A No 10 spokesman said: “He made clear his desire for pragmatism and compromise on all sides but underlined that protecting the Belfast [Good Friday] Agreement in all its dimensions was paramount.
“The prime minister underlined the UK’s position on the Northern Ireland protocol and the need to maintain both the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the UK.
“He made it clear that the UK is committed to finding practical solutions within the framework of the protocol which protect the aims of the Belfast [Good Friday] Agreement and minimise the impact on the day-to-day lives of people in Northern Ireland.”
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The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has held meetings with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and French president, Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of a G7 summit, as post-Brexit turbulence strains relations between Britain and the EU.
Johnson also met the bloc’s leaders – the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and European council president , Charles Michel – on Saturday at the Carbis Bay resort where G7 leaders are gathering.
The two sides are locked in an escalating diplomatic feud over Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK that has a land border with the bloc.
The EU is angry at the British delay in implementing new checks on some goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, while Britain says the checks are imposing a big burden on businesses and destabilising Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace.
The spat has drawn in the US president, Joe Biden, concerned about the potential threat to Northern Ireland’s peace accord.
The EU is threatening legal action if the UK does not fully bring in the checks, which include a ban on chilled meats such as sausages from England, Scotland and Wales going to Northern Ireland from next month.
Britain accuses the bloc of taking a “purist” approach to the rules and urged it to be more flexible in order to avoid what has been dubbed a “sausage war”.
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The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Saturday acclaimed a “historic” action plan by G7 nations to prevent future pandemics, after Covid-19 wrecked economies and claimed millions of lives around the world.
The “Carbis Bay Declaration” – named after the seaside town in Cornwall, south-west England, where world leaders are holding their summit – comprises a series of health policy commitments.
The collective steps include slashing the time taken to develop and license vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, while reinforcing global surveillance networks.
It will be formally published on Sunday, alongside the G7’s final communique
“The Carbis Bay Declaration marks a proud and historic moment for us all,” Johnson said on Twitter, as world leaders kicked off the second day of their three-day summit.
“Under this agreement, the world’s leading democracies will commit to preventing a global pandemic from ever happening again, ensuring the devastation caused by Covid-19 is never repeated.”
As part of the pact the G7 will boost genomic sequencing capacity, and support reforms to strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO).
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The Duchess of Cambridge and US first lady, Jill Biden, have written a joint article on the importance of early childhood after their visit to a primary school in Cornwall, where the G7 is taking place.
The two women met for the first time on Friday at Connor Downs academy in Hayle, where they took part in a round-table discussion with experts on the importance of the early years of childhood for future outcomes.
In the article, published by CNN, they say there must be a fundamental shift in how the UK and US approach the earliest years of life. “If we care about how children perform at school, how they succeed in their careers when they are older, and about their lifelong mental and physical health, then we have to care about how we are nurturing their brains, their experiences and relationships in the early years before school,” they write.
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The European Union has been urged to back down in a dispute with the UK over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Boris Johnson was holding talks with the EU’s key players on Saturday as the dispute threatened to overshadow his hosting of the G7 summit.
The prime minister was meeting European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen; the European council head, Charles Michel; the French presiden,t Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in the margins of the gathering in Cornwall.
The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, urged the EU to take a more “pragmatic” approach to the Northern Ireland issue.
The main summit agenda will see the leaders of the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy commit to a new plan aimed at preventing a repeat of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson also faces a potentially tricky series of meetings with the EU’s senior representatives. Downing Street has indicated the UK would be prepared to unilaterally delay the full implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol to prevent a ban on chilled meats crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain.
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New plans for global infrastructure plan in response to belt and road
The Group of Seven rich nations will announce on Saturday a new global infrastructure plan as a response to China’s belt and road initiative, a senior official in the US president Joe Biden’s administration said.
The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US would also push the other G7 leaders for “concrete action on forced labour” in China, and to include criticism of Beijing in their final communique.
“This is not just about confronting or taking on China,” the official said. “But until now we haven’t offered a positive alternative that reflects our values, our standards, and our way of doing business.”
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure scheme launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, involving development and investment initiatives that would stretch from Asia to Europe and beyond.
More than 100 countries have signed agreements with China to cooperate in BRI projects like railways, ports, highways, and other infrastructure.
In March, Biden said he had suggested to the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, who is hosting the three-day G7 leaders’ summit in south-west England, that democratic countries should develop their own rival scheme.
The US official said until now, the west had failed to offer a positive alternative to the “lack of transparency, poor environmental and labour standards, and coercive approach” of the Chinese government that had left many countries worse off.
“So tomorrow we’ll be announcing ‘build back better for the world’, an ambitious new global infrastructure initiative with our G7 partners that won’t just be an alternative to the B and I (Belt and Road),” the official said.
There were no specifics on how the global infrastructure scheme would be funded. The plan would involve raising hundreds of billions in public and private money to help close a $40tn infrastructure gap in low-income countries by 2035, the official said.
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US plans to call out China for forced labour
The US plans to push democratic allies on Saturday to publicly call out China for forced labour practices as the G7 leaders gathers at a summit where they will also unveil an infrastructure plan meant to compete with Beijing’s efforts in the developing world.
The provocative proposal is part of President Joe Biden’s escalating campaign to get fellow democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with China in the century ahead, according to two senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the plans for the seaside summit publicly.
The officials said Biden wanted G7 leaders to speak out in a single voice against forced labor practices targeting Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities. Biden hopes the denunciation will be part of the joint communique released at the summit’s end, but some European allies have been reluctant to so forcefully split with Beijing.
It may not be clear until the three-day summit ends on Sunday whether the leaders will take that step.
The wealthy nations’ leaders were all smiles and unity as they were welcomed to the summit on Friday by the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, on the freshly raked sand of Carbis Bay for their first gathering since 2019.
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The French president, Emmanuel Macron, told the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Saturday that Franco-British relations could only be reset if he stood by the Brexit divorce deal he signed with the European Union.
Since Britain completed its exit from the EU late last year, relations with the bloc and particularly France have soured, with Macron becoming the most vocal critic of London’s refusal to honour the terms of part of its Brexit deal.
At a meeting at the Group of Seven world’s most advanced economies in south-west England, Macron told Johnson the two countries had common interests, but that ties could only improve if Johnson kept his word on Brexit.
“The president told Boris Johnson there needed to be a reset of the Franco-British relationship,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“This can happen provided that he keeps his word with the Europeans,” the source said, adding that Macron spoke in English to Johnson.
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Welcome to the Guardian’s live blog on the G7 summit, taking place from 11–13 June 2021 in Cornwall in the UK.
I will update you on the latest news throughout the day. Please get in touch via email, Twitter, or Instagram to share thoughts and comments.
