G7 diplomats seek unity on China

The G7's top diplomats began talks in Japan yesterday, looking to project a unified message on concerns about China after controversial remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The foreign ministers are keen to move past the firestorm created by Macron's assertion, following a trip to Beijing, that Europe should avoid "crises that aren't ours", and China was on the agenda even before official talks kicked off yesterday morning.

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After arriving at the mountain resort town of Karuizawa on a special bullet train, the group held a working dinner on China and North Korea, with Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi telling his counterparts that "the unity of the G7 is extremely important".

Yesterday's first session again focused on China and regional challenges, and Hayashi opened the talks by warning the international community was "at history's turning point".