G7 confronts China on trade, pope talks AI

Pope Francis made a historic appearance at the Group of Seven summit on Friday to talk about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, while G7 leaders also pledged to tackle what they called dangerous business practices by China.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the host of the summit, invited the Pope and other heads of state and government, including the prime minister of India and the king of Jordan, in an attempt to show the G7 is not an aloof, exclusive club.

“We will not accept a narrative that wants ‘the West against the rest’,” Meloni said at the meeting on Friday.

The Pope, who arrived in a wheelchair and was warmly welcomed by leaders including US President Joe Biden and his Argentine counterpart, President Javier Milei, acknowledged the ambivalence surrounding AI, saying it could inspire and expand access to knowledge.

“But at the same time, it can lead to greater injustice between developed and developing countries or between dominant and oppressed social classes,” the 87-year-old said.

The core members of the G7 – the United States, Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Canada – have previously focused on China’s economic influence and what they see as an unbalanced market in areas such as electric vehicles, steel and renewable energy.

The summit statement, released on Friday evening, stressed the G7 is not trying to undermine China or disrupt economic development, but will “continue to act to protect our businesses from unfair practices, to level the playing field and heal the ongoing damage”.

The G7 also warned of action against Chinese financial institutions that helped Russia acquire weapons for its war against Ukraine.

Washington this week imposed new sanctions on Chinese companies that supply semiconductors to Russia amid concerns over Beijing’s aggressive stance against Taiwan and its spat with the Philippines over competing maritime claims.

The leaders also discussed immigration, an important issue for Meloni who is pressing Europe to help him stop the illegal flow from Africa and who has launched a flagship plan to boost development in the continent to address the causes of the departure.

They agreed to launch a coalition to crack down on people smuggling, with greater cooperation on investigations into trafficking networks and confiscation of assets.

“Illegal migration is now a global emergency,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “We all agree that sovereign nations control their borders and not criminal gangs.”

Sunak said it was the first time the G7 summit discussed migration, which he said was a sign of progress.

“Obviously, these things don’t happen overnight,” he said.

On the first day of a meeting in southern Italy, G7 countries agreed an outline deal to provide a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by interest from frozen Russian assets – hailing the agreement as a strong signal of Western resolve.

In their summit statement, the G7 leaders said they wanted to increase the cost to Russia of the invasion of Ukraine, and also promised sanctions against entities that help Russia overcome restrictions on oil trade by fraudulently transporting the goods.

However, Meloni, who leads a right-wing government, ran into troubled waters for handling sensitive social issues in a statement summarizing the work of the G7.

G7 leaders made no direct reference to abortion in their final communiqué, with Italy refusing to bow to French pressure to include the word. The draft also led to accusations of reduced support for LGBTQ rights compared to statements issued at previous leaders’ meetings in Japan.

Italy says there is a diplomatic storm in a teacup and says the G7 has not changed its stance on any of the issues.

Many leaders, including Biden, will leave Italy on Friday. On Saturday, there will be a place for a bilateral meeting for those who remain, before the final press conference from Meloni.