Trade ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Sunday called for the “immediate repeal” of import bans on Japanese food products and pushed for a reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The G7 trade ministers issued a joint statement after a meeting in Osaka, Japan, on Oct. 29, pledging to maintain “a free and fair trading system” and enhance “economic resilience and economic security.” “We deplore actions to weaponize economic dependencies and commit to build on free, fair, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationships and accelerate such collaboration with the wider international community,” the statement reads. The G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—emphasized the importance of import curbs on food products being science-based and compliant with WTO....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/g7-nations-call-for-immediate-repeal-of-japanese-food-ban-5519312
Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged concerns about current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visiting Beijing next week. Mr. Albanese is visiting Beijing from Nov. 4 to 7 and will talk with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The prime minister is intending to “stabilise” the Australia-China relationship during his trip. Mr. Morrison, who is currently in London for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, said China is backing Russia against Ukraine and “can’t say” Hamas when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict. “What I do know is we have a Chinese government that is supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine … we’ve got a Chinese government that can’t say the word Hamas,” Mr. Morrison told The Australian newspaper.... 
The Biden administration’s recent security supplemental for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific fails to prioritize the threat posed by communist China, according to one lawmaker. President Joe Biden’s $105 billion supplemental request would spend less than four percent of that amount on strengthening military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. Such a proposal, said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), simply does not take the threat from communist China seriously. “The Indo-Pacific portion was woefully insufficient,” Mr. Gallagher told The Epoch Times. “I think it’s important to recognize that in a supplemental where there seemed to be money for almost everything under the sun, when it came to the most important thing, which is deterrence and American presence in the Indo-Pacific region, our priority theater, it was a joke.”...
Canada has banned the Chinese social media and messaging application WeChat and the Russian anti-virus program Kaspersky from government-issued mobile devices, citing security risks. “Effective October 30, 2023, the WeChat and Kaspersky suite of applications will be removed from government-issued mobile devices,” said Treasury Board President Anita Anand in a statement released Oct. 30. “Users of these devices will also be blocked from downloading the applications in the future.” Ms. Anand said the decision was made to keep “government information and networks secure,” pointing to the analysis from the Chief Information Officer of Canada that WeChat and Kaspersky present “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”...