G-7 leaders eying separate statement focusing on “economic coercion”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his counterparts from the Group of Seven leading democracies are seeking to issue a separate statement with language opposing “economic coercion,” with China in mind, officials with knowledge of the planning said Saturday.

The statement, if issued after the conclusion of the G-7 summit in Hiroshima on May 21, will highlight the importance of strengthening supply chains for critical industrial materials, such as semiconductors, and criticizing using economic means in pursuit of political objectives, according to the officials.

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