China accuses G7 of 'creating division' over trade criticism

China accused the Group of Seven countries of irresponsibly sowing division after the forum condemned Beijing's trade practices in an end-of-summit statement. G7 leaders on Tuesday condemned China's "non-transparent and market-distorting" international trade practices in an end-of-summit statement billed as "unprecedented" by the United States. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Wednesday hit back at the criticism, saying the statement showed the allies were "keen to create divisions and confrontations without any sense of responsibility or morality". The G7 should "advance globalisation" rather than encourage division "at a critical time for the international community fighting the pandemic and striving for economic recovery," Zhao said at a regular press conference. The United States has long cast a wary eye on China over its trade practices, which Washington says are designed to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over foreign ones. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s refusal to distance itself from Vladimir Putin has prompted other countries, including export giant Germany, to also reconsider their economic dependence on Asia. Beijing's increasingly strident claims over much of the South China Sea has also sparked alarm over its military ambitions.