Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give leaders a beachside welcome, formally kicking off three days of summitry along the English coast after meeting U.S. President Joe Biden for the first time on Thursday.

The focus for the Group of Seven on Friday will be on the economic recovery as the world’s most-developed nations discuss ways out of the pandemic. Also look for signs of whether Brexit-related tensions will flare up in meetings on the side.

Key Developments:

  • Johnson and Biden put Brexit differences on ice
  • Merkel arrives today after coronavirus scare in German delegation
  • Leaders consider redirecting $100 billion in IMF reserves
  • Family photo expected at 2 p.m. on a stretch of sandy beach

EU’s Michel urges reassessment on China (10:32 a.m.)

Charles Michel, head of the European Council, said countries need “to rebalance the economic relationships” with China.

“We observe that there is lack of reciprocity at the economic level, we are observing also unacceptable trade practices by China,” Michel told Bloomberg Television’s Guy Johnson.

Michel stressed the importance at the same time of working with the economic giant. “We need to engage with China on some global topics – Covid-19, health, these are topics for which a dialogue is useful and necessary with China included,” he said. Strong ties between the U.S., Europe and other like-minded countries are key “to have more influence and to try to push China into a more positive behavior.”—John Follain

What the world wants China to disclose in Wuhan lab leak probe (10:25 a.m.)

G-7 leaders are set to call for a fresh, transparent, World Health Organization-convened study into the origins of this virus, according to the draft communique seen by Bloomberg News. Yet so far they’ve been vague on what exactly they want, and what they feel China failed to disclose.

Click here to read what a new study could examine, including details on the Wuhan lab’s research, medical records of lab workers and more data on early cases—Rosalind Mathieson

Investors push G-7 leaders on climate change disclosures (10:18 a.m.)

The Investment Association Chief Executive Officer Chris Cummings urged the G-7 to encourage firms to beef up climate-risk disclosure. The U.K. trade body, which represents firms managing 8.5 trillion pounds ($12 trillion) in assets, wrote to officials ahead of the summit, saying the investment industry has a major role to play that requires global coordination, common data and reporting standards and a transition plan.

“Work with us as an industry to make sure that each major economy mandates the safety requirements, that we can really push ahead to make sure that the investment decisions we make, make sense in this climate-change challenge that we are all facing,” Cummings told Bloomberg TV.—Nishant Kumar

U.K. blames EU for ‘dogmatic’ approach on N. Ireland (8:54 a.m.)

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab blamed the European Union for the delay in resolving issues on the Northern Ireland protocol. He told Sky News that Johnson and Biden didn’t “linger” on the issue during their meeting yesterday.

“The prime minister wanted to raise it and be very clear on our position,” Raab said. “It is the dogmatic, purist approach that the EU has taken which is the risk to the Good Friday Agreement.”

He added that “the ball is very much in the EU’s court” as to whether the issues will be resolved before the end of June.—Kitty Donaldson

Merkel’s arrival marred by virus case (8:20 a.m.)

After several Covid-19 infections surfaced in a hotel in St. Ives, one member of the German exploratory delegation has precautionarily gone into quarantine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office confirmed. Officials were at pains to stress that it would not affect the chancellor’s trip. She is due late morning, in time for the family photo.—Arne Delfs

U.K.-U.S. relationship has been reframed (8 a.m.)

There was a fair bit of anticipation about how Johnson and Biden would get on and indeed if they would hit it off. Ahead of the meeting, there were concerns that Johnson was in for a scolding on Northern Ireland, but that did not materialize. There are still real differences over how Brexit is unfolding but both leaders put on a good show and have a lot of shared goals, from climate to security.

Johnson admitted he dislikes the term “special relationship,” often overused and overplayed to describe the transatlantic chemistry that some former presidents and British prime ministers shared.—Flavia Krause-Jackson

White House’s fact sheet on taxes (7:55 a.m.)

The White House announced Friday morning that the U.S.-brokered tax agreement would be a focus of Biden’s meetings at the G-7, calling it “a critical step towards ending the decades-long race to the bottom that pushes nations to compete over who can offer the lowest tax rate to large corporations at the expense of protecting workers, investing in infrastructure, and growing the middle class.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen played a key role in brokering the landmark deal, which G-7 finance ministers sealed last weekend in London. Still, a final, global deal remains a long way off. Talks will continue next month, when Italy hosts Yellen and colleagues for a Group of 20 meeting. Any accord must also have support from a majority of about 140 nations involved in negotiations under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.—Kate Hunter