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China on Monday accused the G7 of political manipulation after criticizing Beijing for its human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
In a statement after a three-day summit in England, G7 leaders denounced China’s abuses against minorities in the Xinjiang region and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, while US President Joe Biden called Beijing to start acting more responsibly in terms of international human rights standards.
Photo: G7 / UK Government
The Chinese embassy in the UK reacted angrily on Monday, accusing the G7 of interference.
The Group of Seven (G-7) is taking advantage of the Xinjiang-related issues to engage in political manipulation and interfere in China’s internal affairs, which we strongly oppose, a spokesperson for the United Nations said. ’embassy in a press release.
The statement accused the G7 of lies, rumors and baseless accusations.
Joe Biden. Photo: G7 / UK Government
Human rights groups claim that China has rounded up around a million Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang in internment camps, which Beijing says is aimed at eradicating Islamic extremism.
We will promote our values, including calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, the G7 statement said.
A Xinjiang camp. Photo: Australian Strategic Policy Institutes International Cyber Policy Center.
At their first physical summit in nearly two years, the leaders of the seven nations announced a number of commitments on vaccinations against Covid-19, climate change, rights and trade.
They also called for a new investigation in China into the origins of Covid-19, prompting a response from the Chinese Embassy that the work must be done in a scientific, objective and fair manner, without accepting a new probe.
The current epidemic is still raging around the world, and traceability work should be done by global scientists and not be politicized, the embassy said.
I am very happy to report that @ G7 leaders have pledged over a billion doses to the world’s poorest countries, another big step towards immunizing the world.
This weekend, the @ G7 met. And together, we are building back better, greener and smarter after the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/ENpgnIpTj3
Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 13, 2021
The coronavirus first appeared in central China in late 2019, and the World Health Organization sent a team of international experts in January to probe its origins.
But their long-delayed report released in March did not draw any firm conclusions, and the investigation has since come under criticism for lack of transparency and access.
The G7 also announced a new infrastructure fund which President Biden said would be much fairer than China’s huge Belt and Road initiative.
The Chinese Embassy statement complained in response that the accusations against China on economic and trade issues contained in the statement are inconsistent with the facts and unreasonable.
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