Ever since the Coronavirus Pandemic caused travel restrictions and lockdowns around the world, it was being expected that this Pandemic will give way to a new world order. China had created the Pandemic by mishandling the COVID-19 outbreak and covering up its severity, and thus it is drawing flak from leaders and countries around the world for the downturn in global economy.
Beijing fears a shake-up in the global equations, and its fears have come true as Trump has proposed to expand the G7 by inviting Russia, India, South Korea and Australia to join the group of most advanced economies. The new world order is here as the ‘expanded G7’, consisting of the G7 countries, and India, South Korea and Australia, has come into being. The three countries have reportedly accepted Trump’s invite. The extended group is likely to meet in September to discuss China’s future.
This comes days after Trump called for the expansion of the “very outdated group” and said the meet would be now held in September or November where India, Russia, South Korea and Australia could be invited.
The US President said that countries like India, Australia, South Korea, and Russia should also get representation in the grouping and it should be called “G10 or G11”. “I’m postponing it because I don’t feel that as a G7 it properly represents what’s going on in the world,” said Trump.
Only Russia seems unlikely to join the ‘expanded G7’ because the suggestion of bringing Russia into the extended fold hasn’t gone down well within the group of world’s most advanced economies. The UK and Canada have opposed Trump’s invite to Russia, which was excluded from the G8 in response to its invasion of Crimea.
Moreover, Beijing and Moscow have been showing a sense of camaraderie amidst the ongoing Pandemic, and it doesn’t sound reasonable for Putin to join a group that is clearly aimed against the Dragon.
The prospect of an ‘expanded G7’ coming together has riled up China and Beijing has been casting aspersions on this latest development.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, “China believes all international organisations and conferences should be conducive to mutual trust between countries to upholding multilateralism, promoting world peace and development”.
He added, “We believe this is the role of the overwhelming majority of the countries in the world. Any attempts to seek a small circle against China is doomed to fail and is unpopular.”
Clearly, the expansion of the G7 with an eye on Beijing hasn’t gone down well with the Dragon. China knows that this group of high income countries can hurt it like never before. These countries can easily use their economic prowess to keep China out of the supply chains and harass its exports-based economy.
Moreover, within the G10, or expanded G7, smaller groupings like the Quad consisting of India, Japan, Australia and the United States could come together to further bolster their Indo-Pacific strategy of isolating China in the strategically crucial maritime region.
All countries in the expanded G7, except India, are high income, developed economies but that doesn’t in anyway mean that New Delhi’s role will get undermined.
Trump has included India within the ‘expanded G7’ keeping in mind that the country will play a big role in replacing China as a premier investment destination and a manufacturing hub for the companies based in the developed world.
India may be a developing economy, but it is at the centre of this expanded intergovernmental economic organisation’s strategy of uprooting China’s hegemony and heralding a new, post-Coronavirus world order in which the Dragon’s role will get watered down drastically.