Biden says America is back at the table, after attending G7 summit

Daily US Times: President Joe Biden has declared that “America is back at the table” following the G7 summit in the UK.

At a press conference on Sunday, the US president said the summit had been “extraordinarily collaborative”.

G7 leaders agreed on action to tackle climate change isues and China’s human rights record after three days of talks.

Mr Biden welcomed its approach on China and Russia and said the organisation was in a “contest with autocracies”.

He also sought to distance himself from his predecessor, Donald Trump, a Republican – who he said believed climate change was “not a problem”.

Mr Biden said: “We had a president, the last [one] who basically said it’s not a problem, global warming. It is an existential problem facing humanity and it’s being treated that way.”

The world leaders attending then G7 summit in Cornwall, England, signed a declaration calling on China to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms”, especially in the Xinjiang region, home to the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

Human rights groups allege China has subjected minorities in the region to mass detention, torture and surveillance – something China strongly denies.

Mr Biden said: “We’re in a contest, not with China per se… with autocrats, autocratic governments around the world, as to whether or not democracies can compete with them in a rapidly changing 21st century.”

The G7 adopted a spending plan to support middle and lower-income countries in response to a similar Chinese scheme.

Menwhile, Chinese officials warned G7 leaders that the days when “small” groups of countries decided the fate of the world were long gone.

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