G7 reiterates importance of cross-strait peace and stability

Washington, April 19 (CNA) The Group of Seven (G7) nations on Friday issued a statement reiterating the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, emphasizing it is critical to global security and prosperity.

The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Union issued the joint statement following a meeting held April 17-19 on the Italian island of Capri.

In the statement, the G7 described peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as "indispensable to security and prosperity for the whole international community," and called for peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.

"We support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations, including in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings," the statement said, but added that there was no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one-China policies.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters after the meeting that the G7 is united on the need for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula.

Blinken said that the G7 is "also united in standing up to China's unfair and non-market practices, especially when it comes to overcapacity that is flooding the markets of our own countries with new products and technologies that are heavily subsidized and so underpriced."

On Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement expressing its gratitude to the G7 nations for reaffirming the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

MOFA said that Taiwan, as an important country in the Indo-Pacific region and a responsible member of the international community, will continue to strengthen cooperation with the G7 and other like-minded countries to jointly safeguard freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region, defend the rules-based international order, and strengthen global democracy.