Britain invites India, South Korea and Australia to the G7 summit meeting next year
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will host the Group of Seven summit, makes the offer while announcing his own trip to India next month
- The invitation comes as the US and other Western nations seek to develop a wider alliance to offset China’s growing influence
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited India, South Korea and Australia to the Group of Seven summit meeting next year, as the US and Europe seek to build a wider alliance against China’s growing power.
Johnson’s office announced that he had extended the offer to Indian, South Korean and Australian leaders to take part in the meeting, scheduled next year in Britain, “delivering the prime minister’s ambition to work with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges”.
The location and date of the summit, as well as whether it will be held in person or by teleconference because of the pandemic, have yet to be determined.
The invitation came as Johnson announced a visit to New Delhi next month as part of a broader strategy to engage the Indo-Pacific region.
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China condemns G7 ‘meddling’ in Hong Kong affairs
Britain’s relationship with China has slid to its most confrontational levels in a generation, chiefly because of the national security law Beijing has imposed in Hong Kong and London’s decision to ban 5G network services by Huawei Technologies, which it contends is closely linked to the Chinese government.
