G7:
The Robbers’ Summit

May 29, 2023

This article is translated from the May 26 issue #2860 of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers’ Struggle), the newspaper of the revolutionary workers group of that name active in France.

Held in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to 21, the traditional G7 summit was, more openly than usual, a meeting of imperialist brigands bent on subjugating the world to their laws and interests.

Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China, two major powers, were not invited, even though they were at the heart of the discussions, negotiations and resolutions adopted at the summit. Other major countries from the so-called “global South,” in order not to say “poor countries,” such as India, Brazil and Indonesia, were invited as mere observers to this summit of rich countries. One of the aims of the G7 was to put pressure on these countries, which refuse to be locked into an exclusive alliance behind the United States and are trying to maintain economic and diplomatic relations with Russia.

This task fell to Ukrainian President Zelensky, a surprise guest at the G7. He extracted from the Indian president a vague promise "that he will do everything possible to put an end to the war." Above all, Zelensky obtained the agreement of U.S. President Biden, previously refused, for European countries wishing to do so to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, on condition that they are deployed "solely on Ukrainian territory." While Macron, who is doing everything he can to appear to be at the center of the game, has boasted of having made aircraft available to Zelensky, this announcement by Biden shows, if proof were needed, that the United States is the sole master of the Western coalition against Russia. But it is also at work against China.

While the imperialist powers, led by the United States, are constantly using protectionist measures, sanctions and economic or financial retaliation against countries that do not submit quickly enough to the interests of their capitalists, they accuse China of practicing “economic coercion.” It’s the pot calling the kettle black! Once again, the aim of American leaders at the G7 was to force their allies, European or otherwise, to approve the sanctions against China.

Determined to curb China’s economic development, for example, by refusing to sell it the most high-performance semi-conductors, the United States is unwilling to let its European competitors pursue unlimited trade with China. Macron’s declaration, made a few weeks ago on the plane back from China, that “France must not follow the United States on Taiwan," made waves. But the reality is that Western capitalists have no choice but to obey, so as not to be deprived of the American market and the dollar, the international currency, both of which are inescapable.

They are part of a political and military coalition that is tightening its grip. As Western submarines and naval vessels cruise the China Sea, it’s China that’s being accused of going to war!

This G7 meeting, officially dedicated to peacekeeping, has clearly brought the world a little closer to generalized war.