May 24—A Financial Times Editorial Board statement published yesterday under the headline “Taking Stock of the G7 Hiroshima Summit,” provides a useful bird’s-eye view of the global strategic situation from the standpoint of the thoroughly bankrupt City of London and Wall Street financial interests. A fair summary would be: Things are going ok for us in the West with our gameplan of orchestrating a showdown with Russia and China, but we have a huge problem with the Global South. They are not on board with that policy, at all, and we’d better come up with something to deal with that. However, the “something” that the Financial Times proposes—significant investment in the nations of the South— is not achievable under today’s trans-Atlantic financial system.
The subhead on the editorial identifies the problem: “Show of unity on Russia and China needs to be followed up with concrete actions.” They note that the G7 summit “had some notable achievements…. The summit made a welcome effort at broadening international support for Ukraine.” The meeting also “gave Zelenskyy a global platform…. The U.S. decision to back allies in supplying F-16 fighter jets and help train Ukrainian pilots, alongside a new $375 million military aid package from Washington, was a particular boost for Kiev too.”
The FT is also happy that Europe has agreed to “coalescence around ‘de-risking’ economic relations with China, rather than ‘decoupling’—echoing the calls of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.”
But, but, but…
“Garnering support from the so-called ‘global south’ will however continue to be a major challenge for the G7. Economic ties between these nations and Russia and China are a barrier. Indeed, India has been gorging on cheap Russian oil, and bilateral trade between Brazil and China has surged. With China also building ports and doling out billions in aid and investment across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, stronger dialogue will only go so far. Limited progress on climate commitments at the summit will also do little to convince poorer nations to boost their own efforts. The G7 will need to follow through on promises to support developing nations with investment and climate finance.”
The editorial concludes: “With the G20 summit set to take place in New Delhi later this year, the challenge now is to show the ‘global south’ that it is not simply an afterthought. A unified approach on Russia and China among seven of the world’s major economic powers is a step in the right direction. But to make the strides ahead, and build a global compact, the G7 will need to accompany its words with money and greater detail.”
