G7 to launch ‘democratic’ alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative: US President – Times Now

London: United States President Joe Biden on Sunday confirmed that leaders of the G7 countries have agreed to launch a democratic alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He further said that collective action will be taken against Beijing over its human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

As he wrapped up the Group of Seven summit, or simply G7 Summit, Joe Biden said that G7 has explicitly agreed to call out human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and to take serious actions against forced labour in solar agriculture and garment industries.

The G7 nations will also coordinate a common policy to deal with China’s non-market policies to undermine competition, he added.

The US President further announced that the seven participating countries have agreed to launch a democratic alternative to Belt and Road Initiative. “They (G7 countries) have agreed to that, that’s underway — details of that. We agreed to put together a committee to do that,” US President Joe Biden said after attending G7 Summit.

Talking about the US-Sino ties, he said, “You are going to see just straightforward dealing with China. As I told Xi Jinping myself, we are not looking for conflict. Where we cooperate, we will cooperate. Where we disagree, I am going to state it frankly and we are going to respond to actions that are inconsistent.”

Meanwhile, new agency Reuters reported that G7 has also decided to call for a timely, transparent, expert-led and science-based WHO-convened Phase 2 COVID-19 origins study including, as recommended by the experts’ report, in China.

The US President, who is on an eight-day, three country trip, left his mark on the G7 by announcing a commitment to share 500 million coronavirus vaccine doses with the world and pressing allies to do the same. The leaders on Sunday confirmed their intent to donate more than 1 billion doses to low-income countries in the next year.