G7 Nations Concerned With China’s Military, Nuclear Buildup
Udumbara
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The G7 leading industrialized nations issued a joint statement on Nov. 12 expressing concern over Beijing’s “rapid” buildup of its nuclear arsenal and military and calling on the Chinese regime to improve transparency to back its claims of commitment to stability.
The G7—the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK—along with the High Representative of the European Union, released their statement on global security during their meeting in Niagara, Canada, on Nov. 11 to 12.
The areas of concern covered peace and stability in the Middle East, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, Haiti, Sudan, and Congo, as well as maritime and supply chain security, with China often highlighted throughout.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s annual arms report, Beijing is increasing the country’s number of nuclear warheads at a rate exceeding any other country, around 20 percent annually. As of January, China was estimated to possess at least 600 nuclear warheads, double what it had in 2020. That makes China a distant third, behind Russia and the United States in the amount of nuclear weapons. Still, the institute estimated it could catch up with the United States by 2030 if the pace continues.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.”
Chinese arms are also fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine, another point of concern for the G7 leaders.
“We condemned the provision to Russia of military assistance by DPRK and Iran, and the provision of weapons and dual-use components by China, a decisive enabler of Russia’s war,” the statement reads.
The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to peace in the Indo-Pacific, calling out destabilizing actions by China and North Korea that include Chinese vessels’ repeated clashes with Philippine ships over contested territory in violation of international law.
The group also expressed support for continued peace in the Taiwan Strait and “for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations.”
The group also referenced its recently released roadmap for resilience in the critical minerals supply chain, pointing to Beijing’s recent attempt to impose sweeping restrictions on global access to rare-earth elements, which are nearly all processed in China.
“We expressed particular concern with the use of non-market policies and practices to disrupt critical minerals supply chains, as well as other forms of market distortions including overcapacity,” the statement reads.
The leaders added that they welcomed the recent meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping—after which, China agreed to pause export restrictions on certain rare earths and magnets for at least a year—and that they “discourage any future policy impediments to predictable trade, including in critical minerals.”
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