In the spotlight: the G7 and the criticisms addressed to Beijing
Audio 05:00
The G7 summit ended on June 13, 2021 in Cornwall.
© AP / Patrick Semansky
By: Guillaume Naudin Follow
11 mins
Publicity
US President Joe Biden called on democracies to unite, and rally to his white plume, let's say it, to oppose autocracies. Russia, of course, and we will talk about it again on Wednesday when he meets Vladimir Putin in Geneva, but also China. The
New York Times
and the
Washington Post
detail the criticisms leveled at Beijing in the final press release. There is the crackdown on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and the attacks on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, but there is also Chinese aggression in the near or more distant maritime space. As such, the
Japan Times
underlines that the G7 has reaffirmed its support for the Japanese vision on the question of Taiwan, still considered in Beijing as a part of China, which does not exclude the use of force to bring the nationalist island back into line .
In the same vein, the Australian daily
The Australian
affirms that the G7 on these questions, has squarely joined the speech of the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, even if it recognizes some differences, in particular with the countries like France or the Germany, which have fewer interests in the Indo-Pacific zone and closer trade relations with China.
Critics from China
The
South China Morning Post
also underlines these nuances between G7 countries and unsurprisingly, the Hong Kong daily echoes the criticisms formulated by the Chinese government. “
The days when a small group of countries ruled the world are long gone
,” one can read.
The newspaper insists in particular on the G7 plan for infrastructure, one of Joe Biden's priority issues in domestic politics and which he also pushes internationally.
The avowed goal is to counter the Chinese initiative known as the New Silk Roads.
The
South China Morning Post
likes to point out that the G7 plan inspired by Joe Biden remains quite nebulous, especially in terms of concrete projects and especially the amount of investment advanced, affirming, not without reason, that this project is much less advanced. than the one proposed by Xi Jinping.
Joe Biden's diplomatic marathon in Brussels continues
The NATO leaders summit is being held this Monday, before a day tomorrow devoted to a meeting with the leaders of the European Union. The Belgian daily
Le Soir
lists the sensitive sites to avoid in the Belgian capital, where Joe Biden arrived last night for a visit that will last 42 hours.
But it is above all the Swiss newspaper
Le Temps
which details the challenges of this summit of the Atlantic Alliance. A development seems necessary. The last strategic document dates back to 2010 and a lot has happened since. First, Donald Trump, obsessed with the fact that the Europeans are paying their fair share in their defense, also described the Alliance as obsolete and obviously took no interest in it. This is, among other things, what made Emmanuel Macron then say that NATO was in a state of "brain death", pushing in particular to rethink the strategy in a project for 2030 on which the Secretary General will rely. Jens Stoltenberg.
For Joe Biden, the question is indeed less economic, even if this dimension is important, than geopolitical.
For the Swiss daily, the articulation of the defense of Europe between NATO and therefore the United States and a European defense called for by certain European leaders is crucial at a time when the issues of friction with Russia are multiply, especially on the Ukrainian question.
Naftali Bennett, new Israeli Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett, 49, who lived in the United States before going into business and then into politics, heads a small right-wing nationalist party.
Its portrayal and its somewhat sinuous course is drawn up at length by the center-left Israeli daily
Haaretz
.
Naftali Bennett finds himself at the head of a motley coalition of eight political parties including an Islamist party representing Israeli Arabs, far-right parties and the rather centrist party of Yaïr Lapid, alternating Prime Minister before the formation of the government of Naftali Bennett, to which he is to succeed in two years.
A team described as improbable by the British daily
Guardian
, which explains that this coalition puts an end to 12 years of reign of Benjamin Netanyahu, whose last two years have been marked by the political crisis against a background of indictment for corruption.
At 71, he did not admit defeat and he now sits in the chair of the Leader of the Opposition with the firm intention of getting back to business as quickly as possible.
Euro football: a scare and skyrocketing departures
After the fear of the discomfort and the rescue of the Danish Christian Eriksen, this is the result of a first weekend of competition at Euro 2021. Several dailies welcome the entry into the running of their national team with a some confidence.
The England team made headlines across the country after defeating Croatia in their opener.
The newspapers speak of "
Flying start
", a booming start.
Confidence also in Belgium.
After the convincing victory of the Red Devils against Russia in St. Petersburg,
Le Soir
sees the selection on a roll by the end of the first round.
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