US aims to ramp up its economic coercion

Although US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had called for "coordinated action" by G7 nations against so-called "economic coercion" from China ahead of the G7 finance ministers' meeting that concluded on Saturday, the communique that was issued didn't make any specific mention of the topic.

Yet on Friday, one week before the three-day G7 Summit opens in Hiroshima, Japan, "a US official familiar with the discussions" told the Reuters that the leaders of the group will issue a statement including "a section specific to China" with a list of concerns that include "economic coercion and other behavior" that violate the rules-based order.

Such agenda-setting in advance is a customary tactic employed by Washington to hijack the discussions of the developed economies, and the extent to which the United States can manipulate such gatherings shows how brazenly it imposes itself on its allies.