G7 tightens Russia sanctions, looks to cut China trade reliance

Leaders of the world’s richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia, while a draft communique to be issued after their talks in the Japanese city of Hiroshima stressed the need to reduce reliance on trade with China.

The Group of Seven (G7) leaders, who will be joined this weekend by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, vowed to restrict any exports to Russia that could help it in its 15-month war against Ukraine.

“This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine,” they said in a joint statement released on Friday, adding they would pursue moves to restrict Russian revenues from trade in metals and diamonds.

On China, which the G7 powers see increasingly as a threat to economic security, they were to agree that its status as the world’s second-largest economy meant there was no alternative to seeking cooperation, said an early draft of the final communique seen by Reuters.