Trump's G11 plan and his attempt to form an "anti-China" coalition

The idea of ​​expanding G7 is not only because this group is "outdated" but also President Trump's plan to form an anti-China alliance.

US President Donald Trump plans to invite Australia, India, South Korea and Russia to join the upcoming G7 Summit, a move many observers think Trump is trying to build an alliance to curb the influence of China.

President Trump has not yet revealed whether he wants to turn G7 into G11 permanently, but he confirmed on 30/5 that he wants to invite the four countries to attend the G7 Summit and "criticize" this group has now "very" obsolete".

White House spokesman Alyssa Farah said President Trump wants the summit to discuss China and announce a escalation of tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues such as how to handle them. Covid-19 and Hong Kong.

Both Korea and Australia are long-standing American allies. Australia even backed the call to conduct an independent investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as expressed concern about the Hong Kong security law passed by the Chinese National Assembly.

India, which lies at the center of America's Pacific strategic region, also has a series of disagreements with China, including current border tensions in Ladakh.

However, Russia is the country that is building strategic partnerships and economic relations with China. It was also the country that was removed from the G8 at the time of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. 

However, Trump has made several suggestions that the country should return to the G7 due to Moscow's global strategic importance.

Anti-China Alliance

President Trump is trying to mobilize support from US allies to contain China, '' said Ni Feng, director of the American Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Mr. Trump's intention is simple: isolate China. This is just the beginning and more restraint measures will be in place."

said Ni.

John Lee, a senior scholar at the Hudson Institute and think tank in Washington, said the US "may be seeking to promote a policy that puts responsibility on China as it fails to control Covid-19." and let this pandemic spread. "

The emergence of this new group will make China nervous when it is "excluded from forming organizations," said Lee, who is also an expert at the American Research Center at the University of Sydney.

China has sought to increase influence in multilateral institutions and organizations over the past decade, which has accompanied the emergence of economic power and is a growing concern with the United States.

For example, President Trump cited China's growing influence in the World Health Organization (WHO) when he announced that the United States would end its relationship with the organization.

The idea of ​​expanding G7 (including the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Britain, Japan and Canada) is Mr. Trump's latest attempt to establish an international alliance without China.

On May 29, Britain said it was urging the United States to form a club of 10 countries that could develop 5G technology on its own and reduce its dependence on China's Huawei group.

On the economic front, the United States has launched an initiative called the Economic Prosperity Network to bring nations and businesses together to "operate on a common system of values".

Shahar Hameiri, a professor at the University of Queensland's School of Political Science and International Studies, said it was necessary to "frankly evaluate" that President Trump's plan to expand the G7 involves increasing confrontation between the US and China.

"Perhaps we are at a time when the separation between the two major countries, the US and China, takes place. This is reflected in increased efforts to develop more platforms or organize international policy and exclude Chinese participation."

said Shahar Hameiri.

The analyst said China could experience a "big blow" if it were excluded from any new US-led initiative that could "promote another form of international economic organization." separate from the globalization system that China is benefiting from. "

Cautious allies

Wang Wen, executive director of the Chongyang Financial Research Institute at Renmin University in Beijing, said the US would not be able to "form a global Cold War frontline against China".

"Other countries do not want to choose between the United States and China." Wang said, adding that the delay in holding the G7 Summit reflected the US weakness in the context that the country could not. Full control of Covid-19 translation.

President Trump had hoped to hold the G7 Summit in June to show that life had "returned to normal" during the Covid-19 epidemic, but that plan was not possible after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister. German Chancellor Angela Merkel declined the invitation.

President Trump said he wants leaders to meet in Washington in September or later.

Shahar Hameiri also said that it is still unclear whether any significant changes in the G7 would not take place. The countries in the G7 as well as those related to President Trump's new plan have both business and commercial interests with China. 

Therefore, reaching an overall consensus in efforts to contain and isolate China will not be easy. For example, despite the current tensions between China and Australia regarding the Covid-19 origin investigation, China remains Australia's largest trading partner and largest exporter.

James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Institute for Relations at Sydney University of Technology, said Australian officials were very cautious about President Trump's proposal.

"This is clearly an attempt to mobilize an anti-China group by President Trump, Australia's largest trading partner, and bring Russia into this process, which Australia has publicly criticized earlier. And I think I will agree with this plan."

expert Laurenceson said.