G7 leaders are planning to announce on Saturday measures to answer Chinese language “financial coercion”, because the group of superior economies seeks to undertake a standard method on Beijing.

UK officers mentioned a “platform” could be unveiled on the G7 summit in Hiroshima that would offer a discussion board for the identification of financial vulnerabilities and co-ordination of protecting measures.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will open a summit session on financial safety by noting China’s use of commerce measures to coerce international locations together with Australia and Lithuania over political disputes.

“The platform will handle the rising and pernicious use of coercive financial measures to intervene within the sovereign affairs of different states,” Sunak mentioned in remarks launched earlier than the assembly.

“We must be clear-eyed in regards to the rising problem we face. China is engaged in a concerted and strategic financial contest,” he mentioned.

A US official mentioned G7 nations — the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, France and Italy — would define “a standard set of instruments that we’ll use to handle widespread issues, each in relation to China but additionally for different international locations”.

One other official concerned within the G7 talks mentioned the instruments could be used “in very particular areas” resembling nationwide safety and points involving the World Commerce Group.

In latest months, China has imposed sanctions on US weapons firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, launched an investigation into US chipmaker Micron, raided US due diligence agency Mintz and detained an area government from Japan’s Astellas Pharma group.

President Xi Jinping’s administration is contemplating curbing western entry to supplies and applied sciences vital to the worldwide automotive business, in keeping with a Chinese language commerce ministry assessment.

The US official mentioned the G7 would additionally launch on Saturday a summit communique highlighting “a standard method on China”.

The communique is being launched in the future sooner than deliberate as a result of the leaders are anticipated to concentrate on Ukraine on Sunday. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will journey to Asia for the primary time since Russia invaded his nation to affix the summit in individual.

The co-ordination on China follows two years of efforts by the US administration of Joe Biden, helped by Japan, to foster unity amongst G7 members on challenges posed by Beijing.

European officers mentioned the G7 would take a “clear-eyed perspective” in direction of China, sustaining that co-ordinated motion was extra highly effective than unilateral measures by particular person international locations.

“We wish to keep away from misunderstandings [with Chinese leaders], however confront them when essential,” added one of many officers.

However China on Friday attacked the G7’s language on “financial coercion”.

“The US usually accuses different nations of utilising their nice energy standing . . . and financial coercion to implement compliance and have interaction in coercive diplomacy,” the Chinese language overseas ministry mentioned. “It’s, in actual fact, the US itself that instigates coercive diplomacy.”

One western diplomat mentioned there was a giant focus on the G7 on profitable over the “international south”.

“It’s clear that China’s affect is critical on these international locations around the globe,” the diplomat mentioned. “I believe we’re all making an attempt to work out how we show to these middle-ground international locations that we care about them always, not simply after we need them to vote in a specific approach.”

Extra reporting by Joe Leahy in Beijing and Alice Hancock in Brussels