The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the G7 summit, criticized the Chinese economic initiative "One Belt, One Road".
According to her, the COVID-19 pandemic and the side effects of the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine, as well as the consequences of climate change, are affecting the global economy and especially the “global South”. Von der Leyen noted that the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative looked like a profitable and good proposal before. However, many southern countries that borrowed from China faced a debt crisis. At the same time, Russia can offer them "only weapons and mercenaries."
The head of the European Commission stressed that the countries of the global South are looking for alternative sources of funding and called on the G7 members and their partners to offer these states mutually beneficial investment initiatives. She named the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) as one of them.
In the communique of the G7 summit, the participating countries called on China to put pressure on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine and condemned Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea. The document also notes the intention to counteract China's illegal technology transfer practices.
In turn, the Chinese side called the provisions of the communique “untrue”, and accused the summit participants of “slander and attacks”. China also noted that the G7 countries ignore topics of concern to Beijing and allegedly "interfere in the country's internal affairs, including in connection with Taiwan."