G7 confronts China on commerce, pope talks about AI

Pope Francis made an historic appearance at the Group of Seven summit on Friday to speak about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, while G7 leaders also pledged to tackle what they said were harmful business practices by China.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the summit host, invited the pope and other heads of state and government, including the prime minister of India and the king of Jordan, in an effort to show the G7 was not an aloof, exclusive club.

"We will never accept the narrative that wants the 'West against the rest'," Meloni told the meeting on Friday.

The pope, arriving in a wheelchair and warmly greeted by leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden and a fellow Argentine, President Javier Milei, acknowledged the ambivalence surrounding AI, saying it could inspire excitement and broaden access to knowledge.

"Yet at the same time, it could bring with it a greater injustice between advanced and developing nations or between dominant and oppressed social classes," the 87-year-old said.

The core G7 members -- the United States, Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Canada -- had earlier focused on China's economic clout and what they see as unbalanced markets in areas such as electric vehicles, steel and renewable energy.

Their summit statement, released on Friday evening, stressed the G7 was not trying to harm China or thwart its economic development but would "continue to take actions to protect our businesses from unfair practices, to level the playing field and remedy ongoing harm".

The G7 also warned of action against Chinese financial institutions that helped Russia obtain weapons for its war against Ukraine.

Washington this week imposed fresh sanctions on China-based firms supplying