China has accused the G7 of “political manipulation” after it criticised Beijing over a range of issues.
In a joint statement at the end of a three-day summit, leaders of the G7 countries made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, urged China to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms” while also highlighting abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority group and the crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.
China has detained as many as a million Uyghurs and other Muslims and imprisoned hundreds of thousands more in its crackdown in Xinjiang, which began in 2017. There have been widespread reports of physical and psychological torture inside prisons and detention camps in the region. China denies the allegations.
Reacting, China’s embassy in the UK accused the G7 of “baseless accusations”.
“Stop slandering China, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s interests,” a Chinese spokesman said on Monday, June 14.
The Chinese embassy in the UK opposed the the mentions of Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, saying it distorted the facts and exposed the “sinister intentions of a few countries such as the United States”.
The G7 also called for Hong Kong to retain “a high degree of autonomy”, underscored the “importance of peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait – a heavily-policed waterway that separates China and Taiwan – and demanded a new investigation in China into the origins of Covid-19.
US President Joe Biden said he was “satisfied” with the statement’s language on China.
