Leaders of G7 nations Japan and Italy engaged in talks in Tokyo on Monday, discussing various topics, including strategies to contain China, leading Chinese experts to assert that the G7 is evolving into a mechanism serving Washington’s hegemonic interests.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni agreed to collaborate for the success of the G7 summit in June. Italy, taking over the presidency from Japan this year, emphasized their commitment to supporting Ukraine and exchanged views on addressing “China’s growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region,” as reported by Kyodo News on Tuesday.
Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance of Beijing Foreign Studies University, commented on the evolving dynamics, stating, “In recent years, the major trend of Japan’s diplomacy is to strengthen contact and cooperation with European countries due to the impact of the [US’] Indo-Pacific strategy, while at the same time, the G7 has gradually become an important platform and tool for the US’ strategy against China.”
Previously, Japan’s relations with Italy were not as close as with other European countries. While the UK, Germany, and some others engaged in cooperation with Japan through a “2+2” arrangement, Italy had limited contact. However, under Meloni’s leadership, Italy is actively working to strengthen ties with Japan.
Experts note that the Italy-Japan relationship may not significantly impact China-EU relations, which are built on long-term cooperation and trust. Cui emphasized that ties between China and Italy are resilient, and potential issues could be resolved if there is a change in the Italian government.
Regarding the broader G7 dynamics, experts believe that while the US is leveraging the G7 mechanism to target China, it does not necessarily imply that all G7 members will unquestioningly follow every instruction from Washington. This suggests that there remains ample room for China to develop individual ties and seek pragmatic cooperation with G7 members separately.