A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Saturday made remarks on G7 Hiroshima Summit's hyping up of China-related issues, urging the countries to stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs. According to reports, the G7 Hiroshima Leaders' Communique and other documents adopted at the G7 Hiroshima Summit contain comments on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and accusations regarding the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet and China's nuclear power, professed G7 opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and claims about "economic coercion" that allude to China. The spokesperson said the G7 makes high-sounding claims about "promoting a peaceful, stable and prosperous world," but what it does is hindering international peace, undermining regional stability and curbing other countries' development. That simply shows how little international credibility means to the G7. Also Read: G7 urges China to press Russia to end war in Ukraine, respect Taiwan's status, fair trade rules Despite China's serious concerns, the G7 used issues concerning China to smear and attack China and brazenly interfere in China's internal affairs. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and has made serious demarches to the summit's host Japan and other parties concerned, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson stressed that resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. The one-China principle is the solid anchor for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Noting that the G7 keeps emphasizing cross-Strait peace, and yet says nothing about the need to oppose "Taiwan independence," the spokesperson said this in effect constitutes connivance and support for "Taiwan independence" forces, and will only result in having a serious impact on cross-Strait peace and stability. Affairs related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet are purely China's internal affairs, the spokesperson said, stressing that China firmly opposes interference by any external force in those affairs under the pretext of human rights. China is a firm defender and contributor to international maritime rule of law, the spokesperson said, adding that the East China Sea and the South China Sea have remained overall stable. Relevant countries need to respect regional countries' efforts to uphold peace and stability and stop using maritime issues to drive a wedge between regional countries and incite bloc confrontation. On "economic coercion", the spokesperson said the massive unilateral sanctions and acts of "decoupling" and disrupting industrial and supply chains make the U.S. the real coercer that politicizes and weaponizes economic and trade relations, urging the G7 not to become an accomplice in economic coercion. Noting that China is firmly committed to a defensive nuclear strategy, the spokesperson said China has honored its pledge to "no first use" of nuclear weapons and always kept its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security. China is the only one among the five nuclear weapon states to have made those pledges. China's position is above board and should not be distorted or denigrated, the spokesperson added. The international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values, still less will it succumb to the rules of exclusive small blocs designed to serve "America-first" and the vested interests of the few, the spokesperson said, urging G7 to reflect on its behavior and change course. "We urge G7 members to catch up with the trend of the times, focus on addressing the various issues they have at home, stop ganging up to form exclusive blocs, stop containing and bludgeoning other countries, stop creating and stoking bloc confrontation and get back to the right path of dialogue and cooperation," said the spokesperson. 

Leaders of the world's most powerful democracies warned China and North Korea against building up their nuclear arsenals, pivoting to major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival later Saturday of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The focus on Asia at the Group of Seven summit comes as leaders tighten sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine. Japan confirmed that Zelenskyy's decision to attend the G7 in person stemmed from his “strong wish” to participate in talks that will influence his nation's defense against Russia. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would have direct engagement at the summit, a day after Biden announced his support for training Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, a precursor to eventually providing those aircraft to Ukraine’s Air Force. World leaders have faced a high-stakes balancing act in Hiroshima as they look to address a raft of global worries demanding urgent attention, including climate change, AI, poverty and economic instability, nuclear proliferation and, above all, the war in Ukraine. Also read: Bangladeshi youth demand G7 nations stop financing deadly fossil fuels China, the world's No. 2 economy, sits at the nexus of many of those concerns. There is increasing anxiety in Asia that Beijing, which has been steadily building up its nuclear bomb program, could try to seize Taiwan by force, sparking a wider conflict. China claims the self-governing island as its own and regularly sends ships and warplanes near it. The G7 leaders issued a statement warning that China's “accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability.” North Korea, which has been testing missiles at a torrid pace in an attempt to perfect a nuclear program meant to target the mainland United States, must completely abandon its nuclear bomb ambitions, the leaders said, "including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under" international nuclear treaties, the statement said. The green light on F-16 training is the latest shift by the Biden administration as it moves to arm Ukraine with more advanced and lethal weaponry, following earlier decisions to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks. The United States has insisted that it is sending weapons to Ukraine to defend itself and has discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory. “We’ve reached a moment where it is time to look down the road again to say what is Ukraine going to need as part of a future force, to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression as we go forward,” Sullivan said. An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on “peace and stability.” The G7 leaders also used their summit to roll out a new wave of global sanctions on Moscow as well as plans to enhance the effectiveness of existing financial penalties meant to constrain President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. “Our support for Ukraine will not waver,” the G7 leaders said in a statement released after closed-door meetings. They vowed “to stand together against Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.” “Russia started this war and can end this war,” they said. Zelenskyy has consistently called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country’s defenses against Russia’s invasion, but has until now faced skepticism from the United States that they would turn the tide in the war. Now, as Ukraine has improved its air defenses with a host of Western-supplied anti-aircraft systems and prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russia, officials believe the jets could become useful in the battle and essential to the country’s long-term security. Biden's decisions on when, how many, and who will provide the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway, Biden told leaders. The F-16 training is to be conducted in Europe and will likely begin in the coming weeks. That’s according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s private conversations with allies. Zelenskyy said Friday that he had opened a visit to Saudi Arabia, where Arab leaders were holding their own summit. The latest sanctions aimed at Russia include tighter restrictions on already-sanctioned people and firms involved in the war effort. More than 125 individuals and organizations across 20 countries have been hit with U.S. sanctions. The financial penalties have been primarily focused on sanctions evaders connected to technology procurement for the Kremlin. The Commerce Department also added 71 firms to its own list. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Friday sanctions “will further tighten the vise on Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions.” In addition, new reporting requirements were issued for people and firms that have any interest in Russian Central Bank assets. The purpose is to “fully map holdings of Russia’s sovereign assets that will remain immobilized in G7 jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine,” the U.S. Treasury Department said. Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about the effectiveness. Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said going into the summit that while G7 countries “deserve credit” for their sanctions, “Russia still maintains capacity to fight this war in the long term.” She added that war's costs are "easily manageable for Russia in the next couple of years at least, and the cumulative effect of sanctions is just not strong enough to radically alter that.” The G7 nations said in Friday’s statement that they would work to keep Russia from using the international financial system to prosecute its war, and they urged other nations to stop providing Russia with support and weapons “or face severe costs.” World leaders Friday visited a peace park dedicated to the tens of thousands who died in the world’s first wartime atomic bomb detonation. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, wants nuclear disarmament to be a major focus of discussions. The peace park contains reminders of Aug. 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, a city that has become synonymous with anti-nuclear peace efforts. Biden, who scrapped plans to travel on to Papua New Guinea and Australia after his stay in Japan so that he can get back to debt limit talks in Washington, arranged to meet Saturday on the G-7 sidelines with leaders of the so-called Quad partnership, made up of Japan, Australia, India and the U.S. As G7 attendees made their way to Hiroshima, Moscow unleashed yet another aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital. Loud explosions thundered through Kyiv during the early hours, marking the ninth time this month that Russian air raids have targeted the city after weeks of relative quiet. In a bit of dueling diplomacy, Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting the leaders of the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for a two-day summit in the Chinese city of Xi’an. The G7 leaders are also to discuss efforts to strengthen the global economy and address rising prices that are squeezing families and government budgets around the world, particularly in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. A U.S. official said the leaders on Saturday would issue a joint communique outlining new projects in the G7's global infrastructure development initiative, which is meant to offer countries an alternative to China's investment dollars. The G7 includes Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union.

Last week, leaders from seven of the world's wealthiest countries gathered in Cornwall, the UK, for the 2021 G7 Summit. The heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and representatives of the EU met to discuss global challenges – including a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The leaders reaffirmed their goal to limit global heating to 1.5C and to protect and restore 30 percent of the natural world by the end of this decade. However, experts say that the summit failed to provide developing nations with the funds needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of global warming. Also read: In poorest countries, surges worsen shortages of vaccines The Caribbean is one of many regions globally that has seen the devastating impact of climate change. When category 5 Hurricane Maria struck Dominica, an island of only 72,000, in September 2017, more than 90 percent of the island's structures were destroyed. However, in the face of catastrophe, the country's Prime Minister, Dr the Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, declared that the small country would commit to becoming the world's first climate-resilient nation by building back better and stronger. Cozier Frederick, Dominica's Minister of Environment, Rural Modernisation and Kalinago Upliftment, told CS Global Partners [http://www.csglobalpartners.com/] that "Small countries like Dominica have done little to hyperbolise the climate crisis. Instead, we in Dominica are on our way to climate resilience because we have no other choice, we are left fending for ourselves. Global leaders need to live up to their climate commitments, otherwise, climate catastrophe will worsen for us all."   Also read: G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts Today, with the help of the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme [http://www.cbiu.gov.dm/ , Dominica is constructing over 5,000 weather-proof homes for its citizens and investing in rehabilitating its agriculture and fishing industries. It is also working towards building a geothermal plant which will reduce the cost of electricity for consumers and provide electricity to the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which in turn will encourage foreign exchange. CBI programmes legally grant citizenship status to applicants who invest in a host country's economy and do so much faster than traditional immigration processes. Dominica's CBI programme provides applicants with a swift processing time, thorough due diligence and affordable investment options channelled into health, education and employment initiatives on the island. With second citizenship from Dominica, individuals and their families can quickly formulate a Plan B and obtain global mobility without physically relocating, going through extensive interviews or waiting years as commonly associated with the traditional immigration process. Also read: Opportunities for Children's Future Increase with Citizenship by Investment, Says Dominican PM in Times of India Webinar