Russia: "G7 Without China Is Meaningless"

[Asia Economy Reporter Sung Ki-ho] Russia has evaluated U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to expand the participating countries of the Group of Seven (G7) summit as the right direction. However, it pointed out that a meeting without the participation of China and others is meaningless.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on the 2nd (local time) to local media, "We paid attention to President Trump's remarks that the current G7 is a very outdated meeting and does not adequately reflect the global situation, and we agree with that position."

Zakharova added, "Russia's basic stance is that international political and economic issues should not be resolved within the exclusive club framework of Western countries," and argued, "For example, it is almost impossible to implement important initiatives of global significance without China's participation."

She continued, "Moreover, there is already an effective and well-proven consultative body, the Group of Twenty (G20)," explaining, "It includes all G7 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) member countries, and overall, it encompasses the leading countries that are the center of global economic growth and political influence."

The claim is that as a framework for discussing major international issues, the G20, a broader gathering of countries including China, is more efficient than the G7 or a partially expanded consultative body of the G7.