Ahead of Friday’s summit, White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday confirmed that President Joe Biden would focus on the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as issues surrounding China during his upcoming meeting with G7 world leaders.
G7, short for the Group of Seven, is an intergovernmental organization with the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom as members. Former member Russia was a member until 2014 when it was sanctioned for the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.
Friday’s meeting will be Biden’s first with the group as president and his first major international engagement since taking office last month. The meeting will take place virtually due to the pandemic.
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‘President Biden’s focus is on the global response to the COVID pandemic, including coordination on vaccine production, distribution, and supplies, as well as continued efforts to mobilize and cooperate against the threat of emerging infectious diseases,’ Psaki said.
Psaki highlighted Biden’s moves to “re-engage” with the World Health Organization and the administration’s plans to join the COVAX initiative, a global effort to produce and distribute vaccines to developing countries.
‘Through multilateral mechanisms, these global efforts reinforce the president’s progress to address the COVID-19 pandemic at home, including increasing the pace of vaccinations instituting public health measures for safe travel, and providing schools with scientific guidance for safe operation,‘ Psaki stated further.
Biden plans to further ‘discuss the global economic recovery, including the importance of all industrial countries maintaining economic support for the recovery‘ after the pandemic subsides.
China, where the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019, will also be a topic of discussion.
Psaki said nations must consider the importance of “updating global roles to tackle economic challenges such as those posed by China” during the meeting.
China’s economic emergence and power moves in the region have been a concern for successive US administrations.
Former President Donald Trump governed at odds with Beijing, placing tariffs on Chinese goods and blocking supplies to Chinese telecommunications companies.
Biden has taken aim at China for its treatment of its Uighur minority community, which is currently held in internment camps. Beijing has faced accusations of ‘genocide’ over its actions.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK