TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The draft of a joint communique for the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Canada included language likely to encourage Taiwan in its dispute with China, reports said Friday.

The foreign ministers of the seven major industrial nations, US, Canada, Japan, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy were meeting with European Union representatives in the Canadian tourist town of La Malbaie to discuss global issues. The main topics of discussion included a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and the recent trade tariffs launched by the Trump administration.

In addition, the draft for the final communique included a tough statement about China that was encouraging to Taiwan, according to a Reuters report. The passages about Taiwan and China had been added following a demand for “more robust language” by the US, the report said.

Participants in the G7 meeting said that if the communique failed to present a united front, Russia and China would be the beneficiaries.