FROM OUR REPORTER
HIROSHIMA —In a armored city begins the G7, in the shadow of the dome of the building destroyed by the atomic bomb that the leaders of the United States, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy will visit this morning. But as much as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes, hope for nuclear disarmament remains distant in an era of North Korean missile tests, Russian threats in Ukraine and Chinese arsenal expansion.
The semiconductor game
The G7 looks at the challenges posed by Russia and China, which are intertwined with topics such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, climate change and investment in infrastructure in the southern hemisphere, in the logic of a competition between major powers in a world tripolar. The most evident sign of technological decoupling (although the EU and the US prefer the term de-risking) is in the semiconductor sector: for the US, the imperative is to bring back home a crucial production for the industry, including defense, which over the years has been delegated to realities such as Taiwan . Japan is also moving. Kishida yesterday announced major investments in the Japanese chip industry during an unprecedented meeting with the executives of 7 semiconductor giants in Taiwan, the US and South Korea, and signed a partnership with London.
Biden and “shared values”
We must “defend shared values”, said Biden in yesterday’s bilateral with Kishida. The White House has made it clear in the past that it does not want a new Cold War with China, but from an American perspective whether it can cooperate for common interests or avoid dangerous outcomes depends in part on how firmly allies side with the US in opposing it. to Chinese aggression. The White House announces a “historic level of unity” on China in this G7, but how specific and concrete will be the language of Sunday’s final declaration? One of the themes is “economic coercion” (the political use of intimidation and retaliation through trade and investment) by Beijing, against which the US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has promised “deeds” and “not just words” . But shared concern does not automatically lead to consensus on how to address threats to economic security and global supply chains without antagonizing a major trading partner like China.
Skepticism (from Germany to Japan)
Some G7 members, from Germany to Japan, are skeptical of committing to an investment scrutiny in China. Beijing, which is currently holding a “counter-summit” with its Central Asian allies, has criticized American “coercive diplomacy” as well as admonishing the G7 to respect the “One China” principle after rumors that the communiqué final would speak “of the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait”.
Russian oil and new sanctions
Today, on the first day of work, the United States will vindicate the unity of the G7 on Ukraine and the success of the “price cap” policy, the ceiling on the price of Russian oil applied for six months: it has reduced Russian revenues and stabilized prices, a senior administration official tells reporters (although India and China have benefited by buying it at a discount, notes the New York Times). The US announces a new package of sanctions against Russia, which includes 70 new entities on the export blacklist, but underline that to reduce Moscow’s capabilities on the battlefield it is also necessary to counter the circumvention of sanctions by third countries (a topic on which the EU does not still found agreement). Kiev also fears that Western unity could be undermined by the US elections; American resistance continues on F16s; and the G7 will talk about a possible peace summit for Ukraine, but differences remain on how to end the conflict.
The shadow of default USA
The other shadow on the alliances is the risk of default if Biden and the Republicans do not agree on the debt ceiling. Therefore the president decided to shorten the trip, canceling participation in the Quad summit in Australia and sending Secretary of State Blinken to Papua New Guinea. Despite the disappointment, the premier of Papua New Guinea confirms its intention to give US troops access to ports and airports, after the nearby Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China.