G7 Leaders Convene in France Without China as Participant

From the outset, China was not included when major powers gathered in 1975 at a chateau outside Paris to address the slumping global economy. That meeting became the first of annual summits by the G7 club of wealthy nations. The group formed to advance their shared interests.

No surprise there. Including Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong alongside U.S. President Gerald Ford and other leaders would have been incompatible with the political conditions of the time.

China was experiencing internal upheaval and was not yet the economic power it later became. Mao had provided military support to Ho Chi Minh's forces in Vietnam, which defeated French and U.S. troops. Mao would therefore have been outside the circle of participants at the inaugural Rambouillet summit of six nations. Canada joined the following year, expanding the group to seven.

As U.S. President Donald Trump and his G7 counterparts gather again in France beginning Monday, China's absence from the informal club's summits stands in contrast to its current economic size and global influence.

If measured solely by economic output, China would already qualify for membership. Its economy, expanded through decades of growth after Mao's death in 1976, now exceeds the combined size of the economies of G7 members Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada. Only the United States remains larger. By this metric, a G7 summit without China is comparable to a soccer World Cup without five-time winner Brazil.

John Kirton, a University of Toronto specialist on the G7, stated that China has grown from a limited participant in global affairs in 1975 to a major actor. He noted that some observers ask whether the G7 and the broader international community would benefit from Chinese membership, and that one plausible answer is affirmative.

A year earlier, Trump had commented that expanding the group to include China was an idea worth considering.

An informal G7 criterion has been that membership is limited to democracies. The founding leaders stated in Rambouillet in 1975 that each participant governs an open, democratic society committed to individual liberty and social advancement. China did not meet that standard during Mao's rule, which involved widespread deaths from famine and political campaigns. Under President Xi Jinping, China continues to rank lower than G7 nations on indices such as the annual Freedom in the World report, the World Press Freedom Index and the Canadian Fraser Institute's economic freedom rankings.

China's economic position affects all G7 countries. It recorded a trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025. It maintains significant control over supplies of certain rare minerals. Its technological development and military expansion have prompted responses from other powers. China is also the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

These factors ensure that China will feature in discussions at the Monday-to-Wednesday summit in Evian-les-Bains.

French President Emmanuel Macron has scheduled time for leaders to address trade imbalances with China, citing concerns that increased Chinese exports of automobiles and other goods could affect G7 manufacturing sectors.

Relations between Trump and other G7 leaders have involved disagreements on topics including Iran policy. Cédric Dupont of the Geneva Graduate Institute observed that China could serve as a point of common concern among the participants.

The Chinese government has previously described the G7 as an outdated structure from the Cold War era. In a statement to The Associated Press before the Evian meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the G7 should promote solidarity and cooperation rather than division and confrontation.

Beijing-based analyst Wang Zichen stated that Chinese officials view the G7 as aligned with U.S.-led Western interests and as a forum where China is often characterized as a challenge. Wang added that Chinese leaders nevertheless recognize the G7's combined economic, technological, military and financial weight.

Analysts have noted that including China could affect group cohesion. Beijing's system of government, its policy positions on Russia and Iran, and other issues differ from those of G7 members. Kirton said a Chinese presence could create incentives for individual members to seek separate arrangements on economic, mineral and technology matters.

Chris Alden of the London School of Economics and Political Science said adding China would complicate the group's operations.

The G7's previous expansion to include Russia in 1998 ended with Russia's suspension in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea, preceding the larger conflict that began in 2022. Trump described the exclusion of Russia as a significant error. Kirton said the episode reinforced the view among remaining members that full membership should remain restricted to established democracies.

The summit occurs amid ongoing trade tensions and differing approaches to global economic governance. G7 members continue to coordinate on issues such as supply-chain security and technology standards, areas where China's role is frequently discussed even in its absence.