The 49th Group of Seven Summit (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) was held in Hiroshima, Japan from May 19 to 21. At the Summit, the G7 countries not only took leadership in resolving the fourfold global crisis – the covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine War, stagflation, and climate change, but also regrouped themselves in a bloc to lead a new international order.

The G7’s emergence as a bloc means that the seven countries will act as a single political force aligning around common interests. The G7 countries used to act as a bloc during the Cold War but sought individual national interests more in the 2000s as the reduction of global security threats and tensions in the post-Cold War period weakened incentives to act as a bloc. The G7 countries restored their bloc identity in 2023 as they found a renewed sense of purpose and relevance as a group in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The G7 countries have committed to a united position toward China as well as Russia and formed a bloc to push back against the China-Russia coalition. And the G7 goes further to propose a new international order different from the one promoted by China and Russia. The G7 defines China and Russia as authoritarian powers posing threats to the rules-based international order and aims to preserve it.