Public bonhomie, nuances from China and Brexit disputes filled the G7 menu

Images of Joe Biden and other G7 colleagues chatting up close on a Cornish beach while enjoying grilled lobster may not have been the best announcement of social distancing rules in times of pandemic times. But the beach kitchen was designed to send another message: under a new American leadership, the world’s major Western democracies are back to work.

After four years of Donald Trump’s presidency, when diplomatic shout-out parties were more likely at G7 summits than outdoor dining, there was a collective sigh. “This is the first time in four years that they have behaved well,” a British official said.

The warmth towards Biden was reflected in the bonhomie between the President of the United States and the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, who walked the white sands of Carbis Bay, with his arms wrapped around him. “The United States is back,” Biden said. Macron fired, “Yeah, definitely.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was delighted with the role of host after Brexit, called the three-day meeting “historic”. After the interruption of the Trump years, there was a real deal on global issues between the leaders of what Johnson called Democracy XI: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and guests. of Australia, South Korea and South Africa. Indian Narendra Modi attended virtually.

In what seemed to mark an apparent shift towards social democracy from the world’s major capitalist economies, the G7 supported Biden’s call to “meet the moment and support the economy” with more spending; Johnson spoke of the need to combat inequality.

But while there was an agreement on additional funding for vaccines for the developing world, a plan to fight future pandemics, funding for girls’ education and an agreement on the need to fund projects. ” clean and ecological “in the developing world, there were divergences of views. .

Biden said he saw the summit as the West tightened its stance on developing China. a “democratic” alternative to the China and Road Initiative, which Washington believes is spreading Beijing’s influence, including unsustainable debt and labor shortages, around the world.

“I think you’ll see a simple deal with China,” Biden told reporters after the summit.

But while White House officials said Saturday’s first G7 session focused on China, Britain tried to avoid framing it in those terms, saying it was about “rebuilding better” after the pandemic.

Johnson declined to mention China at his final press conference, and an EU diplomat said Johnson, Canadian Justin Trudeau and Italian Mario Draghi argued that the G7’s emphasis should be on making a positive case for the west instead of deliberately opposing China.

EU countries wanted to emphasize what they say is a more nuanced view relations with Beijing. “Our focus is that we need to cooperate with China on issues such as climate change, compete in areas such as global supply chains, and challenge China’s record in areas such as human rights,” a European diplomat said.

De Johnson recent review of UK foreign policy it reflects a broader European effort to ride two horses at once: it speaks of seeking “deeper trade links and more Chinese investment in the UK,” while challenging China in other areas.

Biden said he was “satisfied” with the summit statement – agreed by officials at 1.30am on Sunday morning and citing China three times, including the human rights abuse in Xinjiang. But U.S. officials have insisted that the West must go further in the fight against the Xi Jinping Road and Belt Initiative with a package to fund global infrastructure, not just green systems.

Even in what British officials called the “greenbelt and road” plan, there was little new money. Downing Street said it was more about “aligning” promises that Britain and other Western countries had already made to fund environmental projects in poor countries.

For Johnson, who tried to use the summit at a time when Britain was freed from five years of Brexit introspection and faced the world as a key convening power, the Carbis Bay summit only went be a partial success.

As with other major national summer events (such as the 2012 Olympics or the royal wedding), the UK demonstrated its mastery of television shows and the creation of “wellness” events.

Against the backdrop of blue skies and white sandy beaches, the leaders met with Queen Elizabeth at a future environmental park, while her partners and spouses were taken to a Cornish Supporters Club theater. The red arrows of the RAF spun on the beach barbecue. Compared to recent G7 summits, the event was bathed in goodwill.

But Brexit continued to pursue Johnson’s attempt to project the image of a confident “convening” country to bring the world together. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, once again took to the rhetorical battles with the UK’s closest trading partners in Europe.

Biden had urged Johnson before the summit to refresh his tongue about Northern Ireland. But the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom he picked it up – triggering the anger of the French delegation.

Its Secretary of State, Dominic Raab, accused EU leaders of acting as if Northern Ireland were “somehow a different country from the UK”. British EU Minister David Frost appeared at meetings with union jack socks, while British officials noted that the ship HMS Tamar, which patrolled the waters of Carbis Bay, was the ship recently sent to the Channel Islands. of a fishing dispute with France.

Johnson insisted at the closing press conference that Brexit was only a “missing” part of the G7 talks. The first face-to-face meeting of Western leaders for almost two years was rather an occasion for “fantastic harmony.”

Certainly, this did not repeat the G7 of 2018, when Trump resigned from the summit statement and called the host, Canadian Justin Trudeau, “Weak and dishonest”. But the leaders who flew from Carbis Bay on Sunday left behind a lot of outstanding issues.