Expert comment: China and the G7

China has denounced a joint statement by the Group of Seven leaders that had scolded Beijing over a range of issues as a gross interference in the country’s internal affairs, and urged the grouping to stop slandering China.

Professor Shaun Breslin, from the Department of Political and International Studies at the University of Warwick comments:

"This is simply the latest in what is now a very familiar exercise in pushing back against any perceived criticism of China by the Chinese authorities. And it's really no surprise that China reserves special criticism for what is said by people at a party that it is not invited to.

"But there are perhaps a couple of extra dynamics here. One is that questions about the origins of the pandemic aren’t going away; and indeed, seem to be being asked more frequently and more loudly. The second is the possibility of western powers increasingly taking a common position on China in a way that was not very likely when Biden’s predecessor was in power."