China hits out as G7 slams Beijing over human rights, backs Taiwan

G7 foreign ministers condemn ‘targeting of Uygurs’ in Xinjiang, and ‘any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions’ in the Taiwan Strait

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin says group ‘should not criticise and interfere with other countries with a superior mentality’

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The G7 statement reiterated the group’s opposition to “any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions” in the Taiwan Strait. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:05pm, 6 May 2021Updated: 9:33pm, 6 May 2021

China has hit back at a statement issued by G7 foreign ministers criticising its human rights abuses and “coercive economic policies”, while expressing support for Taiwan.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the group of advanced economies “should focus on international anti-epidemic cooperation and promote equitable distribution of vaccines, instead of just hoarding vaccines by themselves, and only make a painless statement about helping other countries”.

“They should not criticise and interfere with other countries with a superior mentality, and undermine the current top priority of international anti-epidemic cooperation,” he said.

In a statement issued on Wednesday the G7 condemned China for its human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, “especially the targeting of Uygurs, members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, and the existence of a large-scale network of ‘political re-education’ camps, and reports of forced labour systems and forced sterilisation”.

“We strongly support independent and unfettered access to Xinjiang to investigate the situation on the ground,” it said.

The statement, which stopped short of calling for concrete action against China for its alleged abuses, came after the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States met in London for their first face-to-face talks since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The G7 would work together to foster global economic resilience in the face of China’s “coercive economic policies”, but also “look for opportunities to work with China to promote regional and global peace, security and prosperity”, the statement said.