The irresponsible practices of the Group of Seven (G7) have revealed its hypocrisy and double standards, an article published by People’s Daily stated on April 26, a few days after the group issued a joint communiqué that contained untrue and irresponsible content related to China.
Masquerading under the name of international law, the joint communiqué points the finger at the South China Sea and East China Sea issues, as well as China's human rights situation.
China firmly opposes the China-related content, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
If the G7 countries had any respect for the facts and abandoned ideological prejudices, they would not have made such irresponsible remarks, said People’s Daily.
The newspaper noted that China has a clear and consistent position when it comes to maritime issues. China has been committed to properly handling disputes, cementing cooperation, and safeguarding peace and stability of the East and South China Seas through talks and consultation directly with related parties.
These countries have made groundless accusations against China, ignoring the fact that Japan made a unilateral declaration to buy Diaoyu Island and in doing so has escalated the tension.
In addition, certain countries outside of the region have frequently shown military muscle in the South China Sea, conducting so-called “freedom of navigation” activities. Such practices severely undermine the hard-won regional peace and stability.
Seemingly promoting “de-militarization”, the G7 foreign ministers are indeed ignoring the militarization, and have even made unjustified accusations against China. Such practices are contemptible.
Chinese government has always attached high importance to the development of human rights, and achieved remarkable progress. However, China still receives unjust treatment from these countries that pretend to be human rights guards and make improper comments.
In fact, these countries are the ones that are faced with human rights issues, such as a violation of citizens’ rights, severe racial discrimination, income disparity and gross violations of human rights in other countries.
These countries are in no position to blame China in the name of international law. In mid April, a number of these countries even launched a military attack against Syria without the permission of the UN Security Council.
Such a unilateral military act didn’t only go against the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, but it also further deteriorated the situation in Syria.
It needs to be pointed out that the G7 was founded to facilitate shared macroeconomic initiatives. However, some of the G7 countries have shifted their focus to non-economic issues in recent years. In regards to the East and South China Sea issue, six out of the seven countries lie outside of the region, so the issue isn’t relevant to them.
It is hoped that these countries will respect the facts and the efforts made by regional countries to promote peace and stability, and cease making irresponsible remarks.
