US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would welcome the inclusion of China and Russia in the G7, putting him directly at odds with the bloc’s position on the two countries just as the Group of Seven summit got under way in Canada.
The leaders from seven major advanced economies – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, along with the European Union – are convening in Kananaskis, Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies until Tuesday. Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump said kicking Russia out of the former G8 was a mistake.
Russia was frozen out of the grouping in 2014 over Moscow’s occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. Nato also moved against the Kremlin at the time, suspending “all practical civilian and military cooperation” with Russia for the same reasons.
The G7 began taking a more forceful stance against China in 2021 during the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency, calling out Beijing on human rights and trade issues. Since then, concerns about the country’s practices have been a fixture of the annual communiqués.
G7 communiqués since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 took aim at both countries, including accusations that some entities in China were supporting the Kremlin’s war effort, which Trump has tried to halt through diplomatic efforts that have yet to produce any breakthroughs.
“This was a big mistake,” Trump said of the decision to leave Russia out of the G7.
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