The leaders wanted to show that international cooperation is back after the upheavals caused by the pandemic and the unpredictability of former US President Donald Trump. And they wanted to make it clear that the club of wealthy democracies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US – is a better friend of poorer nations than authoritarian rivals like China.

Johnson said the G-7 would demonstrate the value of democracy and human rights to the rest of the world and help “the world’s poorest countries to develop in a clean, green and sustainable way.”

“It is not enough for us to rest on our laurels and talk about the importance of these values,” he told reporters after the three-day meeting on the Cornwall coast. “And it’s not about imposing our values ​​on the rest of the world. What we need to do, as the G-7, is demonstrate the benefits of democracy, freedom and human rights to the rest of the world.

But health and environmental activists weren’t impressed with the details of the leaders’ meeting’s final communiqué.

“This G-7 summit will live in infamy,” said Max Lawson, head of inequality policy at the international aid group Oxfam. “Faced with the biggest health emergency in a century and a climate catastrophe that is destroying our planet, they have completely failed to meet the challenges of our time.

Despite Johnson’s call to “vaccinate the world” by the end of 2022, the promise of one billion doses to vaccine-starved countries – coming both directly and through the international COVAX program – is well underway. below the 11 billion doses that the World Health Organization has declared. needed to immunize at least 70% of the world’s population and truly end the pandemic.

Half of the billion promised doses come from the United States and 100 million from Great Britain.

The G-7 also supported a minimum tax of at least 15% on large multinational corporations to prevent companies from using tax havens to avoid taxes.

The minimum rate has been championed by the United States and aligns with President Joe Biden’s goal of focusing the summit on ways democracies can support a fairer global economy by working together.

Biden also wanted to persuade his fellow Democratic leaders to present a more unified front to compete economically with Beijing and firmly denounce China’s “non-market policies and human rights abuses”.

In the group’s statement released on Sunday, the group said, “With respect to China and competition in the global economy, we will continue to consult on collective approaches to challenge non-market policies and practices that undermine the functioning of the world. fair and transparent global economy. economy.”

The leaders also said they would assert their values ​​by calling on China to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of committing serious human rights violations against the Uyghur minority, and in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong.

Johnson, the host of the summit, wanted the three-day meeting to fly the flag of a “global Britain,” his government’s pressure to give the midsize country disproportionate global influence.

Yet Brexit cast a shadow over that goal at the summit on England’s southwest coast. European Union leaders and US President Joe Biden have raised concerns over issues related to new UK-EU trade rules that have exacerbated tensions in Northern Ireland.

But overall, the mood was positive: leaders smiled for the cameras on cliff-lined Carbis Bay beach, a village and resort town that became a crowded fortress for the reunion. The last G-7 summit was in France in 2019, with last year’s event in the United States being scuttled by the pandemic.

The leaders mingled with Queen Elizabeth II at a royal reception on their first night and were served steak and lobster at a beach barbecue after attending a Royal Air Force flight demonstration Red Arrows on their second night.

The allies of the United States were visibly relieved to find the United States as a committed international actor after the Trump administration’s “America First” policy.

“The United States is back and the democracies of the world stand together,” Biden said upon arriving in the UK on the first overseas trip of his 5-month presidency. After the G-7 summit, the president will have tea with the Queen on Sunday, attend a NATO summit in Brussels on Monday and meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday.

At the G-7, Johnson described Biden as a “breath of fresh air”. French President Emmanuel Macron, after speaking one-on-one with Biden, said: “It’s great to have a US president who is part of the club and very willing to cooperate.”

Re-energized G-7 made ambitious statements at meetings on girls’ education, prevention of future pandemics and funding for greener infrastructure globally

On climate change, the “Build Back Better for the World” plan promises to provide funding for infrastructure – “from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia” – to help accelerate the global transition to renewable energy . The plan is a response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which has increased Beijing’s global influence.

All G-7 countries have pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but many environmentalists say it will be too little, too late.

Naturalist David Attenborough addressed leaders via video on Sunday, warning that humanity is “on the verge of destabilizing the entire planet.”

“If this is the case, then the decisions we make during this decade – in particular the decisions taken by the most economically advanced countries – are the most important in the history of mankind,” said the seasoned documentary maker.

Large crowds of surfers and kayakers took to the sea in a mass protest on Saturday to demand better protections for the world’s oceans, as thousands drummed as they marched past the media center from the summit to Falmouth.

“The G-7 is greenwashing,” sang the demonstrators. “We are drowned in promises, now is the time to act.”

The language of the China communiqué was quieter than the United States had intended.

White House officials also said Biden wanted G-7 leaders to speak with one voice against forced labor practices targeting Uyghur Muslims in China and other ethnic minorities. Canada, Britain and France have broadly endorsed Biden’s stance on China, while Germany, Italy and the European Union have been more reluctant, according to two senior officials from the ‘Biden administration.

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Lawless, Kirka and Hui reported from Falmouth, England.

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Follow all of AP’s stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.