Japan wants the Group of Seven advanced economies to take a coordinated approach this year aimed at preventing the “economic coercion” that China has applied to some of its trading partners.
Actions taken by China in recent years, such as suspending imports of Taiwanese pineapples and Australian wine, represent a “clear and present danger” for economies around the world, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s minister of economy and trade, said in Washington on Thursday. “We expect effective responses to economic coercion will be a major item at this year’s G-7 summit.”
Japan is the rotating head of the G-7 industrial democracies this year and will host the group’s summit. Nishimura said that “countermeasures” may be necessary to help countries and regions that are the target of mercantilist actions by authoritarian regimes. Identifying chokepoints that could be used by such regimes would also be helpful, he said.
