This year’s G7 summit kicked off from June 15 to 17 in the French town of Évian-les-Bains. According to the official agenda, key topics mainly cover the US-Iran agreement and next steps, the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, critical mineral supply chains, and artificial intelligence governance.
The Group of Seven consists of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. It was born out of the 1970s oil crisis, initially focusing on coordinating economic policies, and later expanded into areas like politics, security, and technology.
This “rich countries’ club” now accounts for only about 45% of global economic output, way down from its peak of 65.9% in 1999.
After decades of deep shifts in the global landscape, the G7 has been wrestling with internal crises like structural contradictions and policy missteps. Member states are all facing declining industrial competitiveness, aging populations, high inflation, the need to counter trade protectionism, and the push to diversify supply chains.
Against this backdrop, host France proposed an agenda framework of “inclusive dialogue with major emerging countries.” It set up a special session inviting representatives from non-G7 nations like South Korea, India, Kenya, and Brazil, as well as multilateral financial institutions.
HA Viewpoint notes that the summit also secretly made “pointing fingers at China” a common ground, squeezing in topics like so-called trade imbalances, “overcapacity,” critical mineral alliances, and “de-risking” into the schedule. At a time when both its strength and unity are slipping, the G7 refuses to reflect on itself, instead trying to make others take the blame.
To tackle today’s global challenges—whether it’s reshaping supply chains, energy security, or financial stability and climate governance—you can’t do it without China and other Global South countries. So the platforms for discussion shouldn’t be small clubs run by a few developed nations, but more fair and representative international multilateral cooperation mechanisms.
Even before the summit started on the afternoon of the 14th, massive protests against the G7 were already underway in downtown Geneva, Switzerland, with about 20,000 demonstrators taking part. Near the UN headquarters in Geneva, protesters clashed with police multiple times.
At the same time, serious rifts have emerged among member states, especially as European trust in the US has hit rock-bottom.
The latest tariff threats from the Trump administration are still making other members uneasy. Trump has repeatedly slapped high tariffs on EU steel, aluminum, and cars, ignoring the G7’s long-touted “support for free trade” principle. His “America First” unilateralism is seriously tearing apart internal economic consensus.
Right after celebrating his 80th birthday, Trump flew to the French venue on June 15. In an interview before leaving, he said he had directly warned French President Macron to scrap the digital tax targeting US tech giants, or else all French champagne and wine would face 100% tariffs.
Macron responded that France would not back down from Trump’s tariff threats.
Meanwhile, after wrapping up the conflict with Iran, Trump has shifted his focus to the Russia-Ukraine issue. After landing in France, he said he had spoken with Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy the day before, and both were open to “taking action” to resolve the Ukraine crisis.
Zelenskyy said he had proposed meeting Putin during the G7 summit in France this week, or even holding talks in the US, to end the four-year war.
Zelenskyy had already sent an open letter to Putin on June 4, suggesting a direct meeting between the two leaders to push for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia, however, considers Zelenskyy’s presidential term expired in May 2024, questioning his legitimacy to govern and arguing that any agreement he signs could be overturned by a new government.
