G7 ministers to discuss action over Russia and China threats
The UK government will on Tuesday seek to agree decisive action from G7 partners to protect democracies against global threats like those posed by China and Russia.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will lead talks in London designed to lay the groundwork for a leaders summit in June.
The UKs presidency of the G7 is an opportunity to bring together open, democratic societies and demonstrate unity at a time when it is much needed to tackle shared challenges and rising threats, Raab said in a statement.
Their first face-to-face meeting in two years is seen as a chance to reinforce support for the rules-based international system at a time when it says Chinas economic influence and Russian malign activity threaten to undermine it.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said there was a need to try to forge a stronger global alliance, though stressed he did not want to hold China down, but make sure it played by the rules.
In the afternoon talks will turn to Russia, including how to respond to a troop manoeuvres on the border with Ukraine and the imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Raab said on Sunday he wanted the G7 to consider a joint rebuttal unit to tackle Russian disinformation and propaganda.
Antony Blinken and Dominic Raab
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