The G7 summit originally scheduled for June 14 this year was suddenly postponed by the host country, France. When asked about the reason, France gave a vague response. It was found by the media that the real reason was that it coincided with Trump's 80th birthday.

Trump and UFC CEO

Recently, as the rotating chair of the G7, France officially announced that the G7 summit originally scheduled to be held on June 14 has been postponed to the 15th. Although the French authorities vaguely explained the rescheduling as "the result of consultations with partners," American media have already revealed the truth. This adjustment had nothing to do with sudden geopolitical crises or conflicts in international agendas.

The fundamental reason is that this day happens to be the 80th birthday of US President Trump. The White House will hold a grand Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event to celebrate Trump's birthday on the South Lawn, with a scale of 5,000 people already confirmed. Trump would not have given up this "political show" for the summit.

White House senior officials also confirmed that France "thoughtfully" adjusted the date to "cooperate" with the US president's schedule. France's decision not only reveals the subtle changes in the power dynamics within the Western alliance but also exposes the deep identity crisis faced by this once-dominant "club of the rich."

2025 G7 Summit

As the host, France knows that Trump's participation is "crucial" for the summit. A G7 summit without the United States would lose much of its symbolic significance and actual influence, especially at a time when tensions are already high within the group. France's decision may seem like a "pragmatic diplomatic compromise," but it is actually an inevitable result of the severe imbalance of power between Europe and the US.

However, it is worth noting that the US has long been dissatisfied with the G7. During the 2018 G7 summit, then-president Trump clashed fiercely with allies over trade issues, eventually refusing to sign the joint statement and leaving early, leaving behind a famous photo titled "six against one." At the 2025 G7 summit, Trump again ended his trip early and returned to the US, disrupting all planned bilateral meetings, leaving many leaders "stood up."

Trump's Birthday

What embarrassed other member countries even more was that Trump publicly complained during the summit that expelling Russia from the G8 was a "mistake" and even proposed considering China's inclusion to form a "G9." Obviously, Trump was dissatisfied with the endless debates within the G7 on trade and energy issues and also dissatisfied with the mechanism's inability to efficiently serve America's global hegemonic ambitions.

Sarcasm lies in the fact that France's concession does not win reciprocal respect but may make the US even more "look down" on Europe. In international relations, such "one-sided accommodation" is often seen as a sign of weakness. Originally, the G7 as a multilateral coordination mechanism emphasized "equal consultation," but now an international summit has to give way to a personal birthday, which essentially reduces the multilateral mechanism to a tool serving the personal needs of the US president.

Macron and Trump

This kind of compromise will only make Trump more confident that European allies "can't do without the US," leading him to make more unreasonable demands in subsequent negotiations, forming a vicious cycle of "concession - pressure - further concession." Previously, Macron repeatedly criticized Trump in public but kept yielding in practice. This "inconsistent behavior" reflects the helplessness and awkwardness of Europe in great power games.

This farce of "summit giving way to birthday" might become another landmark event in the decline of the G7 mechanism. It exposed Trump's disregard for the G7 and reflected the profound rift in Sino-US relations. France's concession may temporarily avoid the "embarrassing absence" of the G7 summit, but in the long run, it will only accelerate the marginalization of this mechanism.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7594753419160650275/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.