G7 looking to 'de-risk, not decouple' from China

Leaders from the Group of Seven [G7] nations will outline steps to help rein in risks from China while preserving economic ties, the White House has said, highlighting the difficult balancing act rich democracies face with Beijing.

US President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders have gathered in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for a three-day summit that has put in sharp focus both the relationship with Beijing and the urgency of ending Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday, as he seeks to drum up support for his country's efforts to counter the invasion by Russia.

The G7, composed of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada, has been increasingly focussed, officials say, on managing what they see as considerable security risks with China while maintaining critical trade ties.

G7 leaders planned to outline steps to protect sensitive technology, including outbound investment measures, in their communique, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at a briefing in Hiroshima.

'De-risk, not decouple'

Members of the group were looking to "de-risk, not decouple" from China, he said.

The leaders would outline a common set of tools to address economic coercion, including steps to build more resilient supply chains and efforts to protect sensitive technologies through export controls and outbound investment measures, Sullivan said.

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

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

Zelenskyy is expected to hold bilateral meetings with attendees of the G7 summit, including the host, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.