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659495
Sat, 05/13/2023 - 06:23
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http://m.oananews.org//node/659495
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G-7 Finance Heads Discuss Supply Chains for Decarbonization
Niigata, May 12 (Jiji Press)--Finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of Seven major powers Friday discussed measures to strengthen supply chains for goods necessary to achieve decarbonization.
On the second day of their three-day meeting in the central Japan city of Niigata from Thursday, the G-7 officials had a special session on supply chains attended also by nonmember states such as India and Brazil.
The G-7 aims to establish an economic security regime that involves developing countries in order to counter China's growing economic influence.
Participants in the session shared views on a proposal to establish a new framework for boosting supply chains for important decarbonization-related goods such as vehicle batteries, including a fund to aid low- to medium-income countries through financial and technical cooperation.
The G-7 members--Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union--are seen collaborating with the World Bank and like-minded countries over the framework, aiming to launch it by the end of 2023.
The finance ministers and central bank leaders are planning to include the envisioned framework in their joint statement to be adopted Saturday.
The G-7 will seek to secure the smooth supply of decarbonization-related goods by helping low- and medium-income countries develop supply chain stages from mineral extraction to manufacturing. Currently, much mineral processing and product assembly takes place in China.
"We want to cooperate so that low- and medium-income countries can play a bigger role" in global supply chains, said Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, who chairs the Niigata meeting.
Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and Comoros, the current chair nation of the African Union, were invited to the special session, in addition to India and Brazil.
The issue of debts saddling developing countries was also raised for discussion. China's so-called debt trap, in which Beijing offers massive loans to developing countries and takes control of their critical infrastructure, has drawn criticism from many members of the international community.
The G-7 is looking to promote direct investments in developing countries by foreign companies, to support sustainable economic growth through technology transfers and the creation of jobs.
Meanwhile, the United States is spearheading calls to limit investments in China linked to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that such efforts are most effective if like-minded countries can act together.
But it is uncertain whether cooperation in the area can be enhanced as desired, because many emerging and developing countries have strong economic ties with China.END
