By Zhong Sheng

The recent Group of Seven (G7) summit ended awkwardly amid protests. The communiqué issued by the summit claimed to meet global challenges with enduring unity and determination. However, instead of coming up with any feasible plan to preserve world peace and development, it was preoccupied with interfering in other countries' internal affairs and sowing division and confrontation. The communiqué manipulated a series of China-related issues to wantonly smear and attack China, once again exposing the fact that the G7 has become to a puppet of the US, with its actions seriously impairing global peace, stability and development.

The G7 has been meddling in China's internal affairs related to Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang, which has seriously violated the basic norms governing international relations. The most effective way to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is to uphold the one-China principle and oppose the so-called "Taiwan independence". While mentioning that "maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity", the G7 kept its mouth shut on the topic of opposing "Taiwan independence", representing its connivance and support for the "Taiwan independence" forces in essence. Such an act will only cause a serious impact on peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. With the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the South China Sea has generally maintained a peaceful and stable posture, and there is no problem with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. However, disregarding the facts and confounding right and wrong, the G7 attempts to support the maritime provocations of certain countries and leverages maritime issues to sow discord among countries in the region, thereby creating risks for regional peace and development. Ignoring its own human rights misdeeds, the G7 has repeatedly interfered in China's internal affairs related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang in the name of democracy and human rights, which is a blatant double standard.

As for the Ukraine crisis, the attempt to throw the blame on the Chinese side will not solve the problem. It is obvious to the international community who is calling for dialogue and peace and who is adding fuel to the fire and provoking confrontation. Certain countries have shifted the responsibility for disrupting peace and prolonging the crisis to other countries, to the extent of fabricating lies and using the crisis as an excuse to arbitrarily sanction and oppress other countries, exposing their hypocrisy and overbearingness. China is neither the creator nor the party concerned in the Ukraine crisis, but has always been committed to promoting peace talks. China does not supply arms to the belligerents and has always taken a prudent and responsible attitude in arms export, strictly controlling the export of dual-use articles. Normal trade between China and Russia is fair and aboveboard, which conforms to WTO rules and market principles. It doesn't take any third party as the target, nor is it subject to external interference or coercion, still less should it be used as a pretext to smear and contain China.

The G7, following the "gang rules" prescribed by the US, practically undermines the international order in the name of maintaining the so-called "rules-based international order". From adding fuel to the fire over the Ukraine crisis and intensifying unilateral sanctions, inciting trouble in the Asia-Pacific and wantonly interfering in other countries' internal affairs, to bawling orders at other countries on nuclear arms control, the G7's daily rhetoric of "democracy" and "rules-based international order" is in essence an attempt of lining up by ideology and values and engaging in "clique" and bloc politics, thereby provoking confrontation between camps. The so-called "rules-based international order" serves the vested interests of a few countries, instead of the common interests of the international community. In the world, there is only one system that is the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core. There is only one order that is an international order based on international law. There is only one set of rules that is the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Any attempt to go its own way and adopt a different approach runs against the general trend of history and international morality.

The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, with global challenges emerging one after another. It is cooperation that the world needs most. The G7 should conform to the trend of a multi-polar world, economic globalization and democracy in international relations, earnestly respect the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abide by international law, contribute more to world peace, stability and development, refrain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and stop engaging in closed and exclusive "small circles" or provoking confrontation between camps.