The G7 summit in Ise-Shima, Japan, delivered the usual pictures of the leaders smiling and shaking hands in a display of unity yesterday, but many are asking whether the 41-year-old club can still do its job if it excludes key powers like Russia and China.
Critics argue that the format - comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - is lacking because it excludes these key players, who have critical roles in volatile hotspots, like Syria, Ukraine and the South China Sea.
Russia was evicted from the group - then the G8 - of leading industrialised nations in 2014 in response to its annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Unlike the previous two summits, there was no talk this year of reversing that decision.
But, without Russia at the table, the G7 made little progress on the crisis in Syria, where President Vladimir Putin’s alliance with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad makes him a key interlocutor.
Neither the Ukraine crisis nor the Syria conflict can be resolved without Russia, feel many diplomats But the biggest elephant in the room was China, as leaders discussed Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea - home to one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, with overlapping claims by five neighbouring states - as well as trade issues and economic challenges involving the country.
The G7’s efforts to boost global growth also addressed a problem in which China arguably has a central role, as an economic slowdown there has had global knock-on effects.
The larger G20 summit of leading and developing countries in September will be a new opportunity to raise such issues.
China is not only a member, but is hosting this year’s event, in its eastern city of Hangzhou.
The G7 has its roots in a 1975 meeting to tackle a global economic crisis.
It originally comprised the world’s six richest industrialised countries, with Canada joining a year later.
Since then, its remit has expanded to deal with crises of all kinds, although several of its members have slipped in the global rankings.
Proponents of the format argue that it allows the group of like-minded countries to prepare for more decisive meetings such as the G20, agreeing a common line on the main issues.
The G7 “is a place where true democracies and like-minded countries come together for frank and private discussions on the biggest issues that we face”, according to British Prime Minister David Cameron.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted the importance of being able to discuss global developments aside from headline-grabbing issues in a more intimate atmosphere. “A lot of it is psychology,” she said.”It is important to build up trust.”
That trust was on display as Merkel posed with US President Barack Obama for one of the many summit snapshots.
“We love your chancellor,” Obama called out to the German photographer, grabbing Merkel by both hands.
She responded with a relaxed smile, visibly pleased.
