Matthew Goodman, CSIS: a dramatic G7 Hiroshima Summit

Matt Goodman, CSIS SVP and Simon Chair in Political Economy, unpacks the several striking developments at the recent G-7 Summit in Hiroshima. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unified and energized the G-7, with side benefits in economic security, nuclear disarmament, food security, health and climate. With the Ukrainian counteroffensive imminent, the G-7 made multiple specific commitments on Ukraine. On China, “economic coercion” and “de-risking” were the watchwords. Paragraph 51 of the communique laid out nine specific items on China, an unprecedented step. On health, President Biden committed an additional $250m to the Pandemic Fund, nudging his G-7 peers. The G-7 reaffirmed in detail its consensus on UHC, global health architecture, R&D of new technologies. Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) enjoyed higher salience, as did health reconstruction in Ukraine and violence in multiple wars targeting the health sector. The Covid origin stalemate was deliberately downplayed, while the Global Health Emergency Corps merited a mention.